Congress workers slam leadership in first review meeting after debacle in Bihar polls

Patna, Dec 1 (IANS) The Congress party held its first major review meeting after its defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections at Sadaqat Ashram in Patna. 

The meeting witnessed visible discontent among party workers, who openly questioned the decisions of senior leaders—particularly regarding ticket distribution.

The meeting brought sharp criticism from several district presidents.

Many rejected the leadership’s narrative that the defeat was caused by vote theft.

Rohtas District President Amarendra Kumar Pandey strongly opposed the high command’s explanation, saying, “Congress leaders are claiming that the party lost due to vote theft. We are grassroots workers—we do not accept this. The reality is that grassroots leaders were denied tickets, while leaders from other parties were given seats.”

He further criticised the Congress observers and the in-charges sent from Delhi.

“The prominent leaders who came to Bihar as in-charges did no constructive work. They stayed in hotels and looted the party’s funds. Meanwhile, our biggest leader, Rahul Gandhi, is working like a fakir, going door-to-door across Bihar.”

Nalanda District President Anil Prasad also blamed the election debacle on the neglect of genuine Congress workers, “Grassroots workers were ignored. True Congressmen were not given tickets. The observers who came didn’t go to the ground—they only spoke to candidates and left.”

The meeting made it evident that the rank-and-file of the Bihar Congress is demanding accountability from the leadership.

With many workers refusing to accept “vote theft” as the reason for defeat, the focus is shifting towards organisational restructuring, transparent ticket distribution, and greater engagement with grassroots workers ahead of upcoming political challenges.

Meanwhile, State Congress President Rajesh Ram said that the meeting focused on four key points.

According to him, discussions were held on the massive SIR rally scheduled in Delhi on December 14, centred around the issue of vote theft, a detailed assessment of the party’s election performance and the reasons behind the defeat, strengthening coordination between party leaders and grassroots workers, and strategies to rebuild the organisation at the district, block, and panchayat levels.

Rajesh Ram said, “Discussions were held on how to make the SIR rally in Delhi a success and how to strengthen the party organisation after the Assembly elections.”

--IANS

ajk/uk