Senior Congress leader and former MLA Shakeel Ahmad Khan has said that the Congress should fight elections on its own in Bihar instead of staying in an alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). His statement has created tension between the two alliance partners.
Khan believes that the alliance has not helped the Congress grow in the state. He said, “With the RJD, the Congress party could neither increase its seat count nor broaden its base in Bihar. The party’s top leadership must introspect on the alliance.”
He also said the partnership confused party workers and weakened the Congress in Bihar.
Who Is Shakeel Ahmad Khan?
Shakeel Ahmad Khan is a veteran Congress leader and a two-time MLA from Kadwa in Katihar district’s Seemanchal region. He lost his seat in the recent Bihar Assembly election to JD(U) leader Dulal Chandra Goswami.
Khan has blamed the RJD for reducing the Congress’s role in the state, especially in seat sharing and election strategy.
Congress Performed Poorly in Bihar Elections
In the last Bihar Assembly election, the Congress contested 61 seats but won only six. Out of these, four seats came from Seemanchal, which is considered a strong area for the party.
Currently, the Congress has two MPs and four MLAs from Seemanchal. In contrast, the RJD won only one Assembly seat in the region and has no MP there.
Congress Leaders Unhappy With RJD
After the alliance suffered a big defeat, Congress leaders held a review meeting in Delhi. Many leaders were against continuing the alliance with the RJD.
A party insider said, “The Congress could have won more seats had it contested independently, as the perception of the RJD in Bihar has increasingly become that of a party representing only certain communities.”
AIMIM Exclusion Cost Congress Key Seats
Several Congress leaders believe that the party lost Kadwa and Kasba seats because AIMIM was not part of the alliance.
A senior Congress leader said, “We lost Kadwa and Kasba because of AIMIM. Had AIMIM been part of the alliance, our prospects would have been much better in Seemanchal in particular and Bihar in general.”
Party insiders also said that Congress wanted AIMIM in the alliance, but Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD opposed it, which they feel hurt the alliance.
They added, “The party should immediately part ways with the RJD.”
RJD’s Poor Performance in Seemanchal
In Seemanchal, the RJD again performed badly, just like in the 2020 elections. It won only one seat Raniganj in Araria district.
Meanwhile, the Congress held on to Kishanganj, Araria and Manihari, and also won Forbesganj by a narrow margin of 221 votes, but lost Kadwa and Kasba.
Some Congress leaders also said that independent leader Pappu Yadav harmed the party’s chances in Bihar.
RJD Responds to Congress Criticism
The RJD rejected Khan’s remarks and said it was the Congress that had asked for the alliance.
RJD leader Arun Kumar said, “Every party is free to take its own decision. If the Congress feels it should go alone in Bihar, it is free to chart its own course.”
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