The Congress party’s dismal performance in the Bihar Assembly elections has given rise to a wide range of debates, with many pointing out the party’s poor political engineering and ground machinery.
In a state where it ruled for 40 years, the grand old party has reduced to a peripheral role, winning just six of the 61 seats it contested.
Former MP and Jan Suraaj Party spokesperson Pavan Varma says he is not surprised by the Congress’s poor performance in the election. He claims that the party’s ambitions have, of late, exceeded their actual electoral capacity.
According to Varma, the Congress has adopted a fantasy-driven politics while its on-the-ground organisation has almost collapsed.
"The Congress party's ambitions exceed their electoral capacity, and they don't understand one basic thing: that, except in fantasy, the first floor of a house can't be built without a foundation. Congress's on-the-ground organisation has almost collapsed. In Bihar, they were virtually nonexistent,” Varma, a former ambassador, told ANI news agency.
Taking a potshot at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Varma said his campaign stunts cannot be a substitute for the party’s hard work and grassroots presence.
"Rahul Gandhi might come during elections and ride a motorcycle, or jump into a pond to take a bath. It would make headlines, but the Congress party isn't strong," he said.
The Mahagathbandhan, led by Congress and RJD, was reduced to 35 seats in the Assembly elections, with the ruling NDA pulling off a landslide victory, bagging 202 seats in the 243-member house.
The Jan Suraaj Party, which made its electoral debut, failed to win even a single seat, though it had fielded candidates in all 243 seats.
Asked about it, Varma said: "We offered the public a third option. But the people of Bihar did not want the RJD to return, so they used their vote to keep the party in power that was already there."