NEW DELHI: As the Congress's poor showing in the Bihar Assembly elections has sharpened concerns within the party, former Union Minister and party MP from Bihar, Tariq Anwar, has said it made a strategic mistake by staking claim to more than 50 seats in the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance).
Speaking to TNIE, the Katihar MP said the party must now undertake serious introspection if it wants to remain competitive in future elections.
The Congress managed to win only six out of the 61 seats it contested in the assembly polls. Anwar noted that the party did not have a sufficiently strong organisational network in the state to justify such a large share of seats.
While the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) registered a thumping win by bagging 202 seats, Anwar argued that the transfer of Rs 10,000 to the bank accounts of crores of women, along with the controversila Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, were among the key factors that worked in favour of the ruling party.
“The money was transferred to the bank accounts of women just days before the Election Commission announced the polling dates for the assembly election, and the EC did not stop it. It wasn’t fair on the commission’s part. So there was a major turnout of women in favour of the NDA. That’s one of the major reasons for their win. And of course, our organisational weakness and internal strife were also reasons behind our party’s poor performance,” he said.
Unless the organisation adapts quickly, the party may struggle to regain ground in the upcoming assembly elections scheduled for next year, he added.
"I believe we need to learn important lessons from the states where we faced defeats last year," he said, emphasising the need for reflection and corrective action within the party.
The leader also admitted that the stalemate over seat-sharing negotiations and the lack of coordination between the alliance partners dented the prospects.
“The coordination between alliance partners was not up to the mark. All stakeholders are responsible for it,” he added.
Anwar emphasised that the Congress must examine internal issues, such as allegations of unfair ticket distribution and the lacklustre campaign that followed.
"Our campaign was also not very well organised," he admitted, highlighting the party’s shortcomings in strategy and grassroots mobilisation.
“We shouldn’t have asked for more than 50 seats to contest. We demanded more than we could handle as we didn’t have the organisational structure,” he said.
While the state unit saw internal revolt and resignations over ticket distribution, the Congress leader criticised the party’s approach, saying, "They have not established any clear criteria for selecting candidates. Decisions were made arbitrarily, and that has led to allegations of ticket selling."
The leader also dismissed allegations that Congress was solely responsible for the Grand Alliance’s defeat. "It is incorrect to suggest that Congress pulled down the entire alliance," he said.
"All alliance partners, including the RJD and the Left, also faced losses. The outcome was a collective result of multiple factors, and responsibility cannot be attributed to a single party alone."
The party chief must immediately convene a Congress Working Committee meeting to discuss the results in detail, he added.
"I had a one-on-one meeting with Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday, and I shared my concerns with him," he said.