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The Indian National Congress, a key member of the Mahagathbandhan alliance, has once again delivered a disappointing performance in the Bihar Assembly elections. Early trends indicate the party is struggling, with leads in only six out of the 60 seats it contested, resulting in a meagre conversion rate of just 10%.
Once a dominant force in both national and state politics, Congress has now become a peripheral player in Bihar, often relegated to third or fourth place in the state. The party's last significant presence in the state's leadership was under Jagannath Mishra, who served as Chief Minister in 1990. Since then, Congress has struggled to regain its foothold. Despite efforts from the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha to revive the party's fortunes in Bihar, which included a series of high-profile campaigns like the "vote chori" allegations against the Centre and the Election Commission, the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar, and the Voter Adhikar Yatra, Congress has failed to make a substantial impact. Although these issues were intended to galvanise voter support, they appear to have fallen flat in comparison to the local issues that resonate more strongly with Bihar's electorate. In the 2020 elections, Congress secured just 27 seats out of 70, with a conversion rate of 38%, but this time, the party's performance has plummeted to an even lower low. Despite targeting national issues, it seems local concerns have overshadowed Congress' rhetoric. The party's struggles have also become a burden for its alliance partner, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), with Congress' poor showing reflecting negatively on the broader Mahagathbandhan coalition. Meanwhile, the RJD, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, continues to maintain its grip on the state with a lead of 36 seats, suggesting that Yadav's "Jungleraj" image still holds sway among voters. On the other hand, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), currently leading with 190 seats, is poised to replicate or even surpass its performance from 2010, when it secured 206 seats. The NDA's strong performance highlights the challenges Congress faces in regaining its relevance in Bihar's political landscape. (ANI)
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