Go solo in next Bihar elections, Congress netas plead at conclave

PATNA: The state Congress leaders have pleaded to go solo in the next Bihar elections in order to strengthen the party.
Participating in the three-day ‘Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir of the party at Udaipur, Congress legislature party leader Ajeet Sharma on Sunday stressed on the need to make the party self-sufficient, rather than compromising because of alliance partners.
“We do not need to bend in front of others. Rather we have to work to make our party strong. If we continue to get suppressed by the other parties, then it gives a wrong message to the workers and brings down their morale,” Sharma told TOI over the phone on the last day of the conclave from Udaipur on Sunday.
He further said the election related strategy with an alliance could be decided when the election comes. “But we will be in touch with the like-minded parties as defeating BJP is the main priority,” Sharma added.
He kept his views in the political group meeting, which was also attended by senior party leaders like Priyanka Gandhi, Bhupesh Bhagel, Kamal Nath and Mallikarjun Kharge. When asked what response he got from the party’s national leaders, Sharma replied, “All the points have been noted. Now it depends on the party high command.” He further cited the example of Priyanka Gandhi, who had herself decided to go solo in the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Kadwa MLA and All India Congress Committee national secretary Shakeel Ahmad Khan pointed towards the need to make the ideology clear. Khan, who was part of the group which held a brainstorming session on the ‘economy’, said it was important to increase mass contact, especially in the case of Bihar. “Positive changes need to be made and the government’s scheme has to be implemented in a proper way, which is not the case. We also need to tell people of the institutes and assets which have been sold by the NDA government, including those which were making profits,” Khan told TOI over the phone.
Congress state president Madan Mohan Jha, party MP Akhilesh Singh and AICC secretary Chandan Yadav besides senior Congress leader Ranjita Ranjan were also present in the conclave.