After poll debacle, rumblings within Bihar Congress

AICC national secretary and Kadwa MLA Shakil Ahmed Khan blamed the “complete lack of coordination” with alliance partner RJD. “While there has not been a review meeting to discuss the defeat, I blame it on complete lack of coordination with senior alliance partner RJD. Whether it was RJD putting up a dummy candidate in Supaul against Congress’s Ranjeet Ranjan or its failure to persuade Pappu Yadav to not contest from Madhepura or its internal bickerings in Jehanabad and Sheohar, things were in disarray.”

Asked about state Congress chief Jha’s role, Khan said, “There has not been any review meeting so far. We can discuss reasons for defeat at our internal forum.”

Congress’s Begusarai MLA and chairperson of the party’s state women cell Amita Bhushan said, “Though Madan Mohan Jha is the state Congress chief, he hardly had any say. Unki chali hi nahi ya kam chali…We think the alliance with RJD was superficial.” She added, “We should contest the 2020 Assembly elections on our own”.

Bihar Congress spokesperson Umakant Singh said, “We demand the resignation of state party chief Madan Mohan Jha. If presidents of Congress in several states can resign, owning up moral responsibility for defeat, why can’t he? I think the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee should be dissolved”.

State Congress chief Jha was not available for comments. Out of the nine Lok Sabha seats it contested in Bihar, the Congress won only one.