Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the forthcoming Bihar Assembly elections can change the country’s dasha (state) and disha (direction) as the State has always played a crucial part in ushering in change even during the Independence movement.

He said this while addressing office-bearers and workers from Bihar through a video conference.

Sources present at the meeting said Mr. Gandhi asked his party colleagues, including general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, to firm up State-level alliances soon and targeted the Nitish Kumar-led State government for its handling of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and floods.

The Congress leader also warned that economic losses in India because of the pandemic could increase four times, said a leader who didn’t wish to be named.

After paying homage to the personnel of the Bihar Regiment who lost their lives in a violent stand-off with Chinese forces in Ladakh in June, Mr. Gandhi attacked the Modi government for not telling the truth regarding Chinese intrusions.

Though the virtual meeting went on for a couple of hours, Mr. Gandhi joined in only for about 30 minutes. Among the leaders who spoke was Tariq Anwar, who said the Congress should have started preparing a year ago and not one-and-a-half months before the elections. He also reportedly pointed out the absence of organisation on the ground, including booth-level workers.

“He [Rahul Gandhi] exhorted the party workers to go into the forthcoming Bihar elections with a positive agenda of providing good governance to the people who were suffering tremendously due to the unchecked spread of coronavirus on one hand and the devastating floods on the other,” AICC in-charge of Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil said in a formal statement.

Several other leaders, including Shatrughan Sinha and former Governor Nikhil Kumar, spoke about election preparedness and engaging with the grassroot Congress workers, among others. “The essence of the meeting was to find clarity about our seats, alliances and strategy,” said another leader who attended the virtual meet.

The five-year term of the Bihar Assembly ends in November. The Election Commission (EC) has not started preparing for the polls because of the pandemic.