Poll review: Cong district units blame seniors for debacle

Congress leaders criticized senior officials for neglecting roles during campaigning and urged ending ties with RJD after their poor assembly poll performance.

At a key review meeting chaired by the Congress state president Rajesh Ram, party’s district-level functionaries blamed the senior leaders of ignoring their roles during the campaigning, irregularities in distribution of tickets and lack of coordination among the allies of Mahagathbandhan for humiliating defeat of the party in the last assembly polls.

Bihar Congress unit chief Rajesh Ram and state in-charge Krishna Allavaru hold a dialogue with district Congress presidents and workers at the party headquarters Sadaqat Asharam in Patna on Monday. (HT Photo)

Although the meeting was convened primarily to review the preparations of the state unit for the December 14 rally against the “vote chori” in New Delhi, district presidents could not restrain themselves from raising the issues that led to humiliating defeats of the candidates.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Bihar Krishna Allavaru was also present and almost all the poll candidates of the party also took part in the meeting.

Anil Prasad Singh, district president of Nalanda, alleged that the election observers seldom contacted them during the campaigning. “The observers used to meet only the candidates and hardly sought the organisation’s role to bolster the campaigning,” said Singh, adding that the party should have been more prudent in the selection of candidates with proven loyalty and commitment.

A majority of the district presidents and head of the frontal organisations acknowledged large-scale irregularities in voting and special intensive revision of electoral rolls amounting to ‘theft of vote’ as a common refrain for the crushing defeat of the MGB candidates in general. They pledged to continue exposing the nefarious design of vote theft and its implications among the people.

Later talking to media persons, BPCC chief Rajesh Ram said that the party would launch a strong campaign against “vote theft”. “We will work to strengthen the organisation from the district level down to the panchayat level. At the same time, a big rally is being organised in Delhi on December 14 against vote theft allegedly done by the BJP in collusion with the Election Commission of India (ECI). A large contingent of party workers from Bihar will participate,” said the BPCC president.

There was also detailed discussion with the district presidents on strengthening Congress at the panchayat level and forming powerful booth committees for organisational strength. It was also decided to undertake intensive tours across the state. “Along with this, the party will fulfil its responsibility from the issues of the people, both on the streets and in the legislature,” said Ram, adding the plans for strengthening the organisation were also deliberated upon.

Clamour for ending ties with RJD grows louder

A section of the senior Congress leaders, meanwhile, urged the party high command to break its tie with the RJD, which, according to them, always adopted the opportunistic politics and stabbed on the back of the party. “It’s high time that the Congress decided to rebuild the organisation and snapped its dependence on the RJD. The RJD always chose to betray the Congress and spoil its plan to reclaim its old vote bank,” said a senior Congress leader and state delegate Kishore Kumar Jha.

“The current miserable condition of Congress has been attributed to the arrogance and stubborn attitude of Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. Even after being in the alliance, Yadav took every decision single-handedly and imposed it on the partner parties. He never cared to listen to the opinion of any ally before taking decisions,” said Jha, adding that the RJD leader forced “friendly contests” on many seats that badly damaged the alliance in the fray.

Another former MLA of the party said the open abuse of upper castes (Savarnas) during the campaigning by the RJD and other leaders of the alliance partners led to churning out of the forward caste votes from the Congress. “The leader of an MGB ally went to the extent of openly saying in his speech that Brahmins and Rajputs should be beheaded. RJD leaders spread caste frenzy to such an extent that all non-Yadav OBCs and EBCs consolidated against them and extended full support to the NDA,” said the former MLA, adding that caste hysteria fanned by the MGB leaders made upper castes to support the NDA.

A former MLC, in a letter to the party high command, appealed to Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to end the Congress–RJD alliance henceforth, and give a clear assurance to the people of the state that in future Congress will never again enter into any alliance with the RJD. “The RJD leaders are blaming the Congress for the MGB’s defeat. But the fact that the Congress had suffered a lot for teaming up with the RJD, which carries a heavy baggage misrule. Even the top leadership was against an alliance with RJD, but due to the weak state leadership and continuous pressure from Congress leaders close to RJD, the high command finally gave its consent to the alliance,” the letter noted.

The letter further said that the party had one of its worst performances in the assembly polls. “We have to start from scratch and rebuild and expand the party from the ground. There is no election right now, so we should immediately announce the breaking of the alliance with RJD and decide to go alone in the state. The longer we delay this decision, the more difficult it will become to strengthen the party,” the party leaders wrote in the letter.