Reminder for Congress that it cannot do it alone in national politics

One intriguing outcome of Sunday’s result has been the performance of the Congress which managed to win 27 of the 41 seats it contested as the part of the Grand Alliance with Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu Prasad’s (RJD).

The data and the demographic specifics behind Nitish Kumar’s extraordinary victory in the Bihar assembly elections will absorb political enthusiasts in the weeks ahead. One intriguing outcome of Sunday’s result has been the performance of the Congress which managed to win 27 of the 41 seats it contested as the part of the Grand Alliance with Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu Prasad’s (RJD). The party is understandably upbeat; its cadre will take heart from the strong remarks by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi following the outcome — and represent them as a foretaste of more political combativeness to follow.

Congress workers celebrating after Bihar Assembly election results, at AICC, in New Delhi. (Arvind Yadav/HT)

What will particularly encourage the party leadership is that the Congress was fairly central, if not indispensable, to the political formation that took the battle to the BJP, instead of the grand old party being in the margins watching other forces contrive opposition momentum. This flowed from an astute reading that the party really had no choice in Bihar except to hitch its fortunes to Messrs Kumar and Prasad. A modest outcome was clearly better than none when the party was struggling to stay in the headlines. Looking forward, the party would be better off exploring alliances in the states that have elections to follow. This is easier said than done in a party where factional interests can frustrate central calculations. Already state Congress leaders have targeted BSP leader Mayawati and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav assuming they are already on a roll.