NEW DELHI: With just days to go before the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections on November 6, the Congress war room is operating round the clock to fine-tune its campaign strategy amid alliance challenges and regional complexities.
The Congress is contesting 61 seats in the state, with 56 candidates facing direct contests against the BJP and JD(U). Speaking to this paper, Vaibhav Walia, a member of the party’s war room operations team, said the focus this time is on improving the strike rate through a data-driven, constituency-specific approach. The war room, comprising a core group of hundreds of members, is working around the clock to streamline the preparations across the state.
“Despite multiple challenges, our war room strategies have been laid out meticulously, focusing on constituencies where the party has realistic winning prospects,” Walia said.
The first phase of polling will cover 121 constituencies across 18 districts. While the ruling NDA had finalised its seat-sharing arrangement well in advance, the Opposition Mahagathbandhan, comprising the RJD, Congress, VIP and Left parties, took nearly two weeks to reach a consensus. The talks, which, at one point seemed on the verge of collapse, delayed the start of the alliance’s joint campaign, which began on Oct 29.
Acknowledging the delay, Walia said, “We lost some time in reaching a seat-sharing consensus, but that was a leadership decision to ensure winnable seats. The war room had no role in that process. Our focus now is to make up for lost time and present a united front during the campaign. Our 40-star campaigners, including Rahul Gandhi and other top leaders, have also hit the ground”
Despite some “friendly contests” between Congress and RJD in about 10 constituencies, Walia said such overlaps are a natural part of coalition politics. “Compromises are sometimes necessary for the sake of the larger alliance,” he said.
The Congress war room has also been strengthened with enhanced data analytics tools, real-time monitoring systems and communication networks to track developments across constituencies. On the ground, Youth Congress workers and local office bearers have been mobilised for grassroots outreach. The Congress had appointed Kumar Gaurav as the war room head in May this year.
Strategising on a war footing
The war room, comprising hundreds of members, is working around the clock to streamline preparations
The focus is on improving the strike rate through a data-driven, constituency-specific approach
War rooms help candidates carry out campaigns in their constituencies
The war room has been strengthened with data analytics tools, monitoring systems and communication networks
Youth Congress workers and local office bearers have been mobilised for grassroots-level outreach
