While Rahul Gandhi continues to harbour big political ambitions for himself, the grand old party’s influence in the country is steadily shrinking. Whether it is the Hindi heartland state of Bihar or Kerala in the down south, or, as a matter of fact, even Kashmir, Congress has little say, with alliance partners’ dominance looking quite visible.
While the Rashtriya Janata Dal is threatening the Congress to contest all 243 assembly seats in Bihar, its ally in Kerala, the Indian Union Muslim League, whose fiefdom is limited to North Kerala, has now asked Congress to spare some assembly seats in the southern part of the state, clearly trying to make inroads into Congress’s area of influence. And then National Conference leader Omar Abdullah’s statement during J&K assembly polls, where he asked Congress to limit its poll campaign to the Jammu region, is still fresh in the public’s memory.
These three instances are enough that Congress’ allies have started taking the Grand Old Party for granted. The latest to prove the point is the Bihar assembly polls. Congress is finding itself cornered and is expected to settle for fewer seats than it initially expected. Reports reveal that Congress, which is part of the Rashtriya Janta Dal-led alliance in Bihar, had initially planned to contest 90 assembly seats this time. However, it has now downgraded it to 60 to 62 assembly seats, & as trends indicate, this figure could go even further down. The reason is mounting pressure of allies, particularly the RJD and the Vikasheel Insaan party.
The Mahagathbandhan, as it is known in Bihar includes RJD as the biggest partner and includes Congress, Vikasheel Insaan Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Lok Janshakti Party (Pashupati Paras faction), and various factions of Left parties. After Uttar Pradesh, Bihar is a key Hindi heartland state with much political significance, and Congress certainly does not want to lose its relevance here. It has already been playing second fiddle to the Lalu Yadav family for quite some time. The Congress’s surrender to the Lalu family is to an extent that even the state Congress president has been time and again appointed at the behest of the Lalu family.
Whenever Congress has tried to assert itself in Bihar, it has been cut to size by Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, top RJD Leader and former Deputy CM of Bihar. Only recently, to put pressure on Congress, Tejashwi announced his inclination to contest all 243 assembly seats in the upcoming Bihar elections. Thus, sending a clear signal to Congress that it will be RJD that will have all the say in the allotment of seats.
Now coming to Kerala, a state where Congress has big hopes to clinch power in the assembly elections due next year. The party stakes in the coastal state are also high, and it aims to unseat the Left Democratic Front government. With the Gandhi family finding its newfound bastion in the state’s Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, Kerala has suddenly become a state of priority for Congress leaders. But here, too, Congress is dependent on IUML to ensure its success. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi later could not have secured mega wins in Wayanad without the IUML’s support. The green IUML flags in Congress’s rallies in Kerala are enough to prove the point.
And one clearly remembers how during 2024 J&K Assembly elections campaigning, Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah asked Rahul Gandhi to conclude his election campaign in Kashmir and instead shift his focus to the Jammu region.
“I hope after Rahul is done campaigning in one or two seats in Kashmir, he focuses on Jammu. Ultimately, what Congress does in Kashmir is not as important as their efforts in Jammu. Unfortunately, Congress hasn’t done enough in the plains of Jammu.”, Omar Abdullah had said. NC & Congress were contesting the polls in alliance, and the way Omar advised Rahul was something unexpected and more of disrespect for the Gandhi family scion.
But then, forget Congress, the survival of the first family is more important than the rise of Congress.
