Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s rally at Gandhi Maidan on Sunday has generated hopes of revival among the party cadres after a gap of nearly two decades.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s assertion at the Jan Akanksha rally that the Congress, like in UP, would bat on the front foot and hit the sixes apparently hinted about the party’s future strategy to go about the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Bihar.

Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) chief Madan Mohan Jha said the rally that was held after a gap of 28 years had brought the party back into reckoning. “It has boosted the confidence of party workers and any talks over seat sharing with allies for Lok Sabha election would be held in keeping with their sentiments,” Jha said.

At the rally which saw an impressive turnout, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav announced his party’s agitation for increasing the reservation limit for the deprived sections. However, a section of the Congress leaders felt let down, as they were pitching for reservation of economically backwards of the upper castes.

Former BPCC chief Anil Sharma said that Rahul Gandhi’s speech, which apparently kicked off the party’s election campaign for the LS polls, had set the benchmark for the rival parties. “Unlike BJP, we do what we promise. The Congress president had announced loan waiver, and people must have reason to trust him,” said Sharma, adding that Rahul also sought to impress the intelligentsia by promising to offer the hoary Patna University the status of a central university.

A senior Congress leader, pleading anonymity, claimed the rally had put the party in a better position at the negotiating table. “We have already clarified to the RJD that it must not seek to play ‘big brother’ for LS polls. Rahul Gandhi has already clarified that the RJD and Congress will form the next government in Bihar. The RJD will definitely think twice before describing Congress as a party without a mass base, if it wished to avoid 2009 like results. The RJD table in LS had come down to 4 from 22, when it broke away with the Congress,” he said.

Continuing with its old approach towards the Congress, the RJD has been looking to restrict the Congress’s stake on five to six LS seats, dubbing it as party ‘no Janadhar’. “This time, they (RJD leaders) have to change their stance. We are aspiring to fight 12-15 seats in the coming LS polls under Grand Alliance (GA). We have many sitting MPs and a lot other potential winners to accommodate,” said BPCC campaign committee chairman Akhilesh Prasad Singh.

The recent victory of Congress party in three states such as Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan also seem to have boosted the state Congress’ confidence of wresting more seats as compared to the previous elections. “Many leaders including sitting MPs and MLAs, including that of the ruling BJP and JD(U), president of Bihar Rajya Vaishya Mahasammelan Jagannath Gupta, are joining the Congress,” said Kishore Kumar Jha, an AICC member, adding that more leaders are planning to switch over to the Congress once the elections are announced.

First Published: Feb 05, 2019 12:11 IST