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Officially, Congress says Rahul Gandhi is letting state leaders lead. In reality, it’s downplaying his role in Bihar to shield him if the alliance loses
The Grand Old Party had to finally succumb to pressure from its allies and announce Tejashwi Yadav as chief minister.
It all began with a poster at the hotel lobby where the first Mahagathbandhan press conference was held. As the posted displayed only Tejashwi Yadav’s picture and carried the slogan ‘Bihar Maange Tejashwi Sarkar’, it was clear that the rest of the Mahagathbandhan campaign would be an RJD show.
This is what other allies like VIP and CPI wanted. The Congress, however, was reticent.
The story of the Mahagathbandhan has been a story of its allies being unhappy and miffed with the muscle flexing of the Congress and its attempt to be the big brother of the coalition. The Grand Old Party had to finally succumb to pressure from its allies and announce Tejashwi Yadav as chief minister and the newer kid on the block, Mukesh Saini of VIP, as deputy chief minister.
Rahul Gandhi was conspicuous by his absence at the presser. But as per the Congress, there is a reason behind it. While officially the stand is that these are state polls and hence, Gandhi will let state leaders take the lead, the party, in reality, wants to downplay his presence on the map of Bihar politics as a way to safeguard him in case the coalition does not win.
Once again, the Bihar elections have shown that Congress has to accept the harsh reality that it can no longer call the shots where it is in coalition. In states like West Bengal and Delhi, the Congress has had to eat humble pie and eventually lose and cede its ground. Both Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee have accused Congress of being a bad coalition partner at a time when it does not have the calibre to win elections.
Ahead of the Bengal polls of 2026, the Congress has been forced to remain silent on many issues like the RG Kar rape and Sandeshkhali violence. Even Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was removed as the state president as Banerjee had issues with him and the party is not keen to alienate her.
Kejriwal’s defeat was seen by many INDIA bloc allies as the Congress ganging up to help the BJP. In Bihar, the RJD did not want to take any chance and hence decided to make it clear to the Congress that it would have to pipe down a bit. Lalu Prasad Yadav told Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi that he did understand the aspirations of the Congress cadre, but this was a do-or-die election for his son Tejashwi.
The Congress accepted the argument and decided to backtrack. For the BJP, this is a sign to show that the Grand Old Party has lost its self-respect and samman [respect].
In the long run, such moves compromise the Congress integrity and Astitva [existence]. They also raise questions over the party’s ability to lead from the front and emerge from the shadows of its allies.
For now, Bihar is a litmus test for the Congress. A win becomes important as it would be a stamp on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’. However, the Congress wants Tejashwi Yadav to lead from the front so that it can absolve itself of any blame in case the Mahagathbandhan loses the match.
Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. She has als…Read More
Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. She has als… Read More
October 23, 2025, 15:47 IST
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