BIHAR CONGRESS SURVIVES ON LALU’S ALMS: SELF RESPEC OR LUST OF POWER ?

BIHAR CONGRESS SURVIVES ON LALU’S ALMS: SELF RESPEC OR LUST OF POWER ?

21-JULY-ENG 1

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-------------------------The current state of the Congress in Bihar politics is no less than a critical patient who is on life support system. Prashant Kishore's direct and sharp statement that "Congress survives on Lalu's begging in Bihar," is not just an allegation, but the naked truth of the decades-long plight of the Bihar Congress and its indomitable greed for power. A national party, which gave independence to the country, is today fighting for its existence at the mercy of a regional party.

This plight of the Congress is not of a single day. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the Congress contested 70 seats in alliance with the RJD, but won only 19 seats. At the same time, RJD won 75 seats on its own. These figures clearly show that the RJD is in the role of the elder brother in the alliance, and the Congress has become even less than a younger brother, which has to survive on the crumbs of the 'elder brother'. The traditional support base of the Congress has completely disintegrated in Bihar. The Muslim vote bank, which was once its stronghold, has now become an integral part of the RJD. Dalit and upper caste voters have also turned to parties like the BJP and the JDU. In such a situation, the Congress is left with no independent identity or vote bank of its own.

Prashant Kishore's analysis that "the greed for power has drowned the Congress in Bihar," is 100 percent accurate. The leaders of Bihar Congress do not want to take the risk of contesting elections on their own and strengthening their party. They feel that only by being in alliance with the RJD can they remain close to power, even if for this they have to trade their self-respect and blindly accept the leadership of Lalu Prasad Yadav.

This situation is not only embarrassing for the Congress, but also puts a serious question mark on its future. Will the Congress ever be able to regain its lost ground in Bihar? Will it be able to pave its independent political path by coming out of the 'mercy' of the RJD? Currently, Congress is completely on the backfoot in Bihar. It has to accept every condition of RJD, and its voice is suppressed in the alliance. This is a bitter reality that is constantly creating turmoil in Bihar politics.

The question is, how long will Congress survive on this 'begging'? Will the leadership of Bihar Congress ever show the courage to make its party stand with self-respect, or will it always continue its political journey under the umbrella of Lalu family? This is such a tough question of Bihar politics, which only time will answer.