New Delhi: Just nine months after drawing a blank in Delhi assembly elections, Congress has suffered an even deeper humiliation in Bihar. Calling it a “defeat” almost softens the harsh reality — the party has been virtually wiped out. Of the 61 seats it contested, it is on course to win just one. That is a dramatic fall from the 19 it bagged in 2020, which itself was a decline from the 27 seats it won in 2015.
The scale of the rout is staggering. The party lost ground not only to BJP but also to LJP. Its lone confirmed victory so far — Kishanganj — owes much to Qamrul Hoda, a former AIMIM leader. Even though Congress candidates are leading in five seats, the verdict is unmistakable: this has been the party’s worst-ever performance in Bihar.
Strategic Errors, Missing Leadership Arc
Congress leaders had hoped that the Voter Adhikar Yatra — a 1,300-km campaign across 23 districts led by Rahul Gandhi — would mark the beginning of the success of a revived strategy in Bihar. Its central theme was to expose alleged “vote chori” by BJP and tap into “anti-incumbency” against Nitish Kumar.
The yatra began with energy and visibility. But then it stopped — and so did Rahul’s presence. His absence was acutely felt on the ground. Local candidates repeatedly complained that it was impossible to galvanise voters without their top leader campaigning alongside them. Even RJD sources expressed frustration, recalling how Congress’s underperformance had weighed down the Mahagathbandhan in 2020.
Meanwhile, BJP’s campaign machinery went into an overdrive. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held 14 rallies over his seven visits. Amit Shah worked the organisational back channels, and Yogi Adityanath delivered more than a dozen fiery speeches.
The contrast could not have been sharper: BJP-led NDA pitched jobs, infrastructure, and the good governance provided by the double-engine sarkar with alliance partner chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), while Congress struggled to articulate a coherent development roadmap for a state where nearly 50 lakh people are unemployed.
By the time Rahul finally shared the stage with Tejashwi Yadav — on October 29, barely a week before phase one of polling — the optics came far too late.
Pattern of Decline, Not Isolated Setback
The drubbing in Bihar adds to a series of recent defeats. After an unexpectedly respectable performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress has suffered consecutive setbacks in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, and now Bihar. Whatever confidence 2024 briefly restored has rapidly evaporated.
The shock in Bihar is not only the number of seats lost; it is the message it sends. If Congress, even as a junior partner, cannot function as a reliable ally or provide organisational strength, its role within coalitions becomes questionable. In Bihar, its failure to carry its share of the burden left RJD to shoulder the load alone — a task too heavy even for Tejashwi despite his strong appeal among young voters.
Internal Unrest Rekindled
The aftermath has triggered introspection — and (of course) anger. Former Congress leader Nikhil Kumar has argued that the results expose structural weaknesses in the organisation. Mumtaz Patel criticised the concentration of power among “leaders disconnected from ground reality,” while Shashi Tharoor publicly called for a “serious assessment” of the party’s functioning. “There will have to be very serious introspection,” he said — “not just sitting and thinking, but studying what went wrong: the tactical, messaging, and organisational mistakes.”
The fear within the party is clear: this disaster could reignite the cycle that has plagued Congress since 2014 — dissent, defections and renewed leadership challenges. Some insiders believe that leaders who have been disillusioned since 2014-23 may again become vocal in their dissent.
The Bigger Question
At the national level, Congress still remains the symbolic nucleus of anti-BJP politics. It has succeeded in shaping ideological narratives around the Constitution, federalism, and civil liberties. But narrative victories have not translated into electoral victories.
This raises the central dilemma: can a party that cannot deliver votes continue to serve as the national anchor of the opposition?
For Congress, the Bihar result is not just another entry in a list of electoral defeats. It is a wake-up call. Organisational revival, leadership clarity, and a development-centric message are no longer optional — they are absolutely essential if the party wants to avoid what BJP leaders mock as its approaching “century” of losses.
For now, the message from Bihar is blunt: ideology cannot substitute for electoral strategy — and symbolism cannot replace organisation.