With Congress being blamed squarely for routing of the RJD in its bastion in Bihar, doubts are being raised about the prospect of another major INDIA bloc partner, the Samajwadi Party (SP), to continue with the Congress as an alliance in Uttar Pradesh when the State goes to polls in 2027.
Akhilesh Yadav-led SP, in partnership with the Congress, had exhibited a stupendous performance by claiming victory on 37 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats, which was instrumental in spoiling the BJP’s arithmetic in the 2024 General Elections.
While Congress called for an introspection on its massive loss despite of an aggressive campaign together with RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav as the Mahagathbandhan Chief Ministerial candidate, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday alleged that the “game” carried out through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar will no longer be possible in other States.
Posturing for a bold move, Yadav said that the “game” carried out through SIR in Bihar has now been exposed, and that such “election conspiracies” will not be possible in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh or anywhere else. “Like CCTV, our ‘PPTV,’ or ‘PDA (Backwards, Dalit, Minority) Prahari (watchdog)’ will remain vigilant and thwart the BJP’s plans,” he said.
The months-long SIR in Bihar concluded with the Election Commission (EC) publishing the final voters’ list on September 30. The exercise drew sharp protests from the opposition, which accused the poll panel of working at the behest of the ruling BJP, a charge it flatly rejected. Yadav further said the BJP is “not a party, but a fraud”.
As the Congress and the Mahagathbandhan suffered a humiliating defeat in the Bihar elections, calls for introspection and course correction started emerging from the opposition bloc, with some criticising the concentration of power in a few hands.
Congress stalwart late Ahmed Patel’s daughter Mumtaz Patel alleged that the party’s failures are a result of giving power in the hands of leaders who are totally disconnected from the ground reality. In a social media post, she said it is time to look within and accept the reality. She asked how long the loyal party workers have to wait to witness success.
Another partner of the INDIA bloc, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, who was formerly with the Congress, urged opposition leaders to speak to the women of the country. “Dear Opposition Leaders. Unsolicited advise. Speak to the women of the country. An alternative cannot be without them. Thank you,” she said in a social media post.
Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor said the party would examine the results, do some serious introspection, and look into the organisational mistakes that led to such a verdict.
He also said he was not invited to campaign in the Bihar election, while noting that the Congress would examine the reasons for its defeat. “Remember, we were not the senior partner in the alliance, and the RJD also has to look carefully at its own performance,” he told reporters.
According to him, in a mandate like Bihar’s, it is important to examine the totality of the party’s performance. He noted that elections are about a number of factors. Another Congress leader and former state chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh said, “We will introspect where Congress lagged.
