Rahul Gandhi is expected to be extremely disappointed, especially after his ‘vote chori’ press conferences, which didn’t really help his party at the end.
The Indian National Congress (INC) had high expectations when it decided to contest on 61 seats in Bihar. However, the election hasn’t gone according to their plan, as they won only six seats, a disappointing outcome to their ambitions.
It is one of their poorest performances in Bihar. In the 2020 state assembly elections, the Congress secured 19 seats, compared to 27 in 2015. Meanwhile, in 2010, they secured four seats.
Follow live updates on the Bihar election results here.
The INDIA bloc’s aggressive campaign in Bihar revolved around Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) allegations. However, his accusations and aspirations crumbled on Friday as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a dominant victory.
Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ accusations
Rahul Gandhi presented an inspiring and aggressive image in a series of press conferences, where he accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of vote theft under the instructions of the BJP-led NDA. In his three press conferences, he levelled allegations of how the ECI was stealing and mass-deleting. He also accused the body of data manipulation.
He went a notch higher in his final press conference on November 6, where he alleged and showed evidence of a Brazilian model on the Haryana voter list. Her photo appeared under 22 different names, including Sweety and Seema.
Failed to strike a chord with the public
Either his ‘vote chori’ message wasn’t heard, or it simply fell flat, as he never showed his promised ‘hydrogen bomb’ of evidence. Their performance in Bihar can be summed up simply as disastrous, and it could take a huge toll on the party’s confidence and image.
Congress has become a minor player in Bihar now, often finishing in third or fourth place. Their last strong and significant leadership presence in the state was under Jagannath Mishra. He was elected as chief minister of Bihar three times and was the most powerful Congress leader in the late 1970s and 1980s. However, since then, the party has seen a decline in its influence in Bihar, leaving a significant leadership vacuum.