Congress becomes single largest loser in Bihar elections and in bypolls of most other states

New Delhi: The Congress is the biggest loser in Bihar and most assembly bypolls across states. In Bihar, the party was set to be defeated in 51 out of the 70 seats it contested, turning into a drag on fighting allies RJD and Left. Given RJD’s fighting show, backed by an impressive Left performance, a minimum of 30 plus seat from Congress would have given the opposition alliance an easy win against NDA in what turned out to be a close fight.

Questions will be raised in the Congress on candidates’ selection and campaign. If Rahul Gandhi’s addressed lesser number of rallies than a much busier Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party’s ‘other star’, Priyanka Gandhi didn’t even venture out in a campaign managed by Team Rahul functionaries after sideling Bihar Congress leaders.

“We were hoping for a much better show for the alliance. While we were hoping JDU will drop many more seats, the Congress did make things easy for NDA, though we are still fighting to make it”, said CPIML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP routed Congress in 19 of the 27 bypolls, necessitated by defection of Congress MLAs. The elections saw Kamal Nath slugging it out with the backing of Digvijaya Singh and other state leaders while the Gandhis kept away from the line of fire.

In Uttar Pradesh, all Congress candidates lost bypolls, which saw BJP winning six and SP one seat. The Congress' projected consolation was in coming second in seats where the Priyanka Gandhi-led state team made much noise during the Hathras incident and over migrant plight during lockdown. BSP's meltdown appears to have helped SP more than the Congress.

In Gujarat, the Congress lost all eight seats where elections were held after its MLAs quit. The outcome also showcased the divide in the party unit over elevation of Hardik Patel as PCC working president, where the internal issues are volatile over appointment of inexperienced leaders to top organisational posts. The defeat of Congress in two Karnataka bypolls too confirmed the slide. The party managed to win a seat each in Chhattisgarh and Haryana.