Bihar Congress leaders point out flaws after poll loss, but party high command sticks to vote chori

The top leadership of the Congress met with leaders from Bihar to review the party’s debacle in the recent Assembly elections on Thursday (November 27, 2025).

All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, and general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal met over 70 leaders from Bihar in separate batches of 10 at the party headquarters.

“Today’s 4-hour review meeting with our candidates & leaders from Bihar, under Hon’ble Congress President and Hon’ble LOP’s leadership, made one thing absolutely clear: the Bihar election was not a genuine mandate, but a grossly managed and fabricated outcome,” Mr. Venugopal said in a post on X.

“What happened in Bihar is nothing short of a direct assault on democracy,” he added.

However, sources told The Hindu that a majority of the leaders pointed out problems with regard to ticket distribution, “outsiders” being given tickets at the cost of party loyalists, lack of coordination with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), ineffective leadership by AICC in-charge for Bihar Krishna Allavuru, among others.

Several leaders talked about the party having to carry the “baggage” of the RJD and wanted the Congress to chart out its own path in the State.

Sources said the atmosphere before the formal meeting began was tense as Bihar leaders blamed each other for the poll drubbing, leading to heated arguments.

Mr. Allavaru, however, denied these reports as well as allegations of tickets being ‘sold’.

“Yes, there were some controversial tickets (given) but when you speak, you should speak with data. The margin of loss in these controversial tickets was less than the non-controversial ones. It’s easy to level allegations but as responsible people, you should be careful,” he said.

“When I entered the room, there was no such thing as Bihar leaders hurling abuses at each other,” he added.

Asked about taking accountability for the party’s poor performance, Mr. Allavuru put up a strong counter about “engineered elections”. “The results have gone beyond vote chori as this is an engineered mandate,” he said, adding, “How is that the BJP and its allies have a two-third strike rate?”

Several senior leaders including Lok Sabha member Tariq Anwar and his colleague from the Rajya Sabha Akhilesh Prasad Singh said the party’s leadership has assured about taking corrective steps.

“For the first time, the AICC has had a detailed review and everyone has given their suggestion. We have been told that correctives will be taken,” Mr. Anwar said.