Bihar – One week after the Mahagathbandhan suffered a crushing defeat in the Bihar assembly elections, Bihar Congress workers protest erupted in Patna on Friday, targeting state party chief Rajesh Ram and Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru. The demonstrations highlight deepening fissures within the party organization following its humiliating electoral performance that saw the NDA secure a landslide victory.
Massive Electoral Defeat Triggers Internal Unrest
The Bihar Congress workers protest comes in the aftermath of a devastating electoral outcome where the NDA won 202 of 243 assembly seats. While the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, the RJD-Congress-led Mahagathbandhan managed to secure only 35 seats, triggering widespread dissatisfaction among party cadres and workers.
The scale of the defeat has prompted intense soul-searching within the organization, with grassroots workers now openly challenging the leadership decisions that they believe contributed to the debacle. The Bihar Congress workers protest represents a significant escalation in internal party tensions.
“Ticket Chor, Gaddi Chhod” Campaign
Visuals from the Bihar Congress workers protest showed several party members carrying provocative banners with slogans like “Ticket Chor, Gaddi Chhod” (Ticket Thief, Leave the Chair), directly targeting both Rajesh Ram and Krishna Allavaru. The aggressive nature of these demonstrations underscores the depth of frustration among party workers.
The Bihar Congress workers protest focused on allegations regarding ticket distribution, with protesters accusing the leadership of corruption and favoritism in selecting candidates for the assembly elections. These charges have struck at the heart of party unity at a critical juncture.
Confrontation with Pappu Yadav
During the Bihar Congress workers protest, tensions escalated when Independent MP from Purnea, Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, arrived at the scene attempting to pacify the agitated workers. However, his intervention backfired as angry Congress leaders reportedly argued with him.
The protestors accused Yadav of collaborating with “non-political” Bihar in-charge Allavaru and alleged that party tickets had been “put up for sale.” These serious allegations during the Bihar Congress workers protest suggest systemic issues in the candidate selection process that may have contributed to the electoral disaster.
Women’s Wing President Resigns
Adding to the party’s woes, the Bihar Congress workers protest coincided with another significant development—the resignation of state women’s wing president Sarwat Jahan Fatema. Her departure represents a major blow to an already reeling organization struggling to manage multiple crises simultaneously.
Fatema’s resignation highlighted issues that aligned with concerns raised during the Bihar Congress workers protest, particularly regarding representation and ticket distribution policies within the party structure.
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Gender Representation Controversy
In her resignation letter, Fatema revealed that only eight percent of the party’s 61 candidates were women, a statistic that amplified the grievances expressed during the Bihar Congress workers protest. She pointed out that she served as women’s wing president for 28 months, working to mobilize women supporters with promises of political empowerment.
“I have been in the post for 28 months, trying to galvanise women in support of the Congress with the promise that the party will work for their political empowerment. But when it came to tickets, only eight per cent of the 61 candidates were women,” she stated, echoing concerns raised during the Bihar Congress workers protest about fairness in ticket allocation.
Unprecedented Denial of Ticket
Fatema further emphasized her unique situation during her resignation, noting that unlike “all my predecessors,” she was not given a party ticket despite holding the women’s wing president position. The Bihar Congress workers protest gained additional momentum from such examples of perceived leadership failures.
“There have been at least twelve or thirteen persons, all belonging to different communities, who have been Bihar Mahila Congress presidents before me. All of them got party tickets in the elections. But I did not,” she wrote, providing concrete evidence for claims made during the Bihar Congress workers protest about favoritism and discrimination.
National Leadership Response
While the Bihar Congress workers protest raged in Patna, national leaders offered contrasting responses to the electoral defeat. Rahul Gandhi appeared to dismiss the election as “unfair,” while Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge adopted a more measured approach, stating that the party “respects the decision” but would conduct a detailed study to understand the reasons for the outcome.
This disconnect between ground-level anger manifested in the Bihar Congress workers protest and national leadership responses suggests deeper organizational challenges requiring urgent attention.
Crisis of Confidence
The Bihar Congress workers protest represents more than just post-election disappointment—it signals a crisis of confidence in state leadership. The combination of electoral humiliation, allegations of ticket corruption, gender discrimination, and leadership resignations has created a perfect storm threatening party cohesion.
Path Forward Uncertain
As the Bihar Congress workers protest continues to reverberate through party corridors, questions remain about how national leadership will address these grievances. The party faces the dual challenge of managing internal dissent while preparing for future electoral battles, with worker morale at an all-time low following the comprehensive defeat in Bihar.
