NEW DELHI: The Left parties’ alliance failed to replicate the success of the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections on Friday, with the Communist Party of India (CPI), the CPI-Marxist (CPM) and the CPI-Marxist-Leninist (CPIML) Liberation collectively securing just three seats.
The CPIML-Liberation won two seats, Paliganj and Karakat, while the CPM secured only Bibhutipur. The CPI failed to win any seats.
CPIML-Liberation’s Sandeep Saurav retained the Paliganj seat, defeating his nearest rival, Sunil Kumar of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), by a margin of over 6,600 votes. In Karakat, incumbent MLA Arun Singh defeated Mahabali Singh of the Janata Dal (United) by more than 2,800 votes. Ajay Kumar of the CPI-Marxist retained the Bibhutipur assembly seat, overcoming Ravina Kushwaha of the Janata Dal (United). Kumar was also the sitting MLA from the same constituency.
The Left parties contested a total of 33 seats in this election. CPIML-Liberation fielded candidates in 20 constituencies, while the CPI and CPM contested nine and four seats respectively.
Earlier trends suggested that the opposition alliance was heading for a heavy defeat, leaving CPIML-Liberation leaders in shock, describing the outcome as “unimaginable.” In the 2020 Assembly polls, the Left had contested 29 seats and won 16, its best performance in over two decades.
“The results do not meet the expectations we had during the campaign; they are unjustifiable, unexplainable, and unimaginable. It appears that the traditional vote bank has returned entirely to Janata Dal (United). Institutional mechanisms such as ‘Vote Chori’ under the guise of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, along with announcements like Rs 10,000 for women, also played a critical role,” said a CPIML-Liberation functionary.
The party narrowly lost Agiaon (SC) by 95 votes. In Balrampur, Dumraon, and Ziradei, the margins of defeat exceeded 3,000 votes. In the previous election, the CPI-ML (Liberation) had emerged as the strongest Left constituent, winning 12 of 19 seats contested, with a vote share of 3.16 per cent.
Responding to the outcome, CPI general secretary D. Raja said that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc parties must undertake serious introspection. “During the campaign, there was significant public engagement and a clear demand for a change of government. People were attentive to issues such as the migration of Bihari workers to other states, rising unemployment, rural backwardness, and women’s living conditions in both rural and urban areas,” he said.
In the 2020 elections, the CPI fielded candidates on six seats and won two, securing a 0.83 per cent vote share. The CPM had contested four seats previously and won two, with a 0.65 per cent vote share. Combined, the Left parties’ vote share stood at approximately 4.7 per cent.
Political observers attributed the poor performance to the erosion of the Mahagathbandhan’s broader appeal and the Left’s inability to consolidate its support base amid shifting electoral dynamics.
The CPM described the victory of the National Democratic Alliance as a setback to the Mahagathbandhan. “The ruling coalition utilised the entire state machinery, resorted to various manipulations, and deployed huge amounts of money. It benefited from the polarising communal and casteist rhetoric of its leaders, including the Prime Minister and Home Minister. This rhetoric, amplified by a compliant corporate media, drowned out the issues raised by the Mahagathbandhan,” the party alleged.
In a statement, the CPM further stressed that Bihar’s results indicate opposition parties must present a more united front to defeat the BJP. “The CPM will examine other factors behind these results in detail. It assures the people that it will continue to lead struggles for the rights of the oppressed and exploited,” the statement concluded.