In the Bihar Assembly elections, RJD and Congress assured their own defeat due to internal disputes. Both parties continued to struggle over ticket allocation, but the issue remained unresolved until the elections. This tug-of-war and internal conflict led to an assured defeat on 11 seats even before the election.
Patna: The analysis of the Mahagathbandhan's (Grand Alliance) defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections 2025 is still ongoing. Separate meetings have been held by RJD and Congress, but the true reason for the election results was their internal conflict and clashes within the alliance. According to many political analysts and local data, defeat on at least 11 seats was assured even before the elections, and these defeats were a result of mutual "friendly fights" within the Mahagathbandhan.
Mahagathbandhan's Internal Strife Highlighted the Extent of Losses
There were serious differences between RJD and Congress regarding seat sharing and candidate selection. On many seats, candidates from both parties clashed with each other, which paved an easier path for the NDA to win. Political analysts state that the real reason for the Mahagathbandhan's defeat was internal stubbornness and a lust for power, rather than the strength of the opposition.
After reviewing the defeat in Delhi, Congress organized a meeting with district presidents in Patna. Feedback on the reasons for the defeat was taken from each district during the meeting. Rajesh Ram, President of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee, stated that Congress's alliance with RJD is purely electoral and lacks any organizational basis. He added that no common strategy between the two parties would be clear after the elections.
Internal RJD leaders also acknowledged that the lack of mutual trust within the alliance and disputes over seat sharing led to several defeats. Analysts suggest that had the alliance strictly adhered to coalition dharma (principles of alliance), such defeats would not have occurred on 11 seats.
Loss on 11 Seats: The Numbers Speak
- Vaishali: RJD's Ajay Kumar and Congress's Sanjeev Singh clashed. JDU's Siddharth Patel won, defeating both by a margin of 32,000 votes.
- Rajapakad: Congress's Pratima Kumari and CPI's Mohit Paswan also faced defeat due to internal conflict. JDU's Mahendra Ram won, defeating Pratima Kumari by a margin of 41,000 votes.
- Beldour: In the internal struggle between Congress's Mithilesh Nishad and IIP's Tanisha Bharti, JDU's Panna Singh Patel won by 35,000 votes.
- Kahalgoan: Congress's Praveen Singh Kushwaha and RJD's Rajnish Bharti faced defeat due to internal conflict. JDU's Shubhanand Mukesh won, defeating Rajnish Bharti by 50,000 votes.
- Sultanganj: Congress candidate Lalan Kumar received only 2,754 votes, causing a loss for RJD's Chandan Sinha.
- Chainpur: Mukesh Sahani won in the contest between VIP's Balgovind Bind and RJD's Brijkishore Bind.
- Karhagar: Congress's Santosh Mishra and CPI's Mahendra Gupta lost; JDU's Vashisht Singh won.
- Biharsharif: CPI's Shivkumar Yadav defeated Congress's Umaid Khan.
- Bachhwara: CPI's Avdhesh Rai defeated Congress's Garib Das; BJP's Surendra Mehta won.
- Narkatiaganj: RJD's Shashwat Kedar defeated Deepak Yadav; BJP won.
- Sikandra: Congress's Vinod Chaudhary and RJD's Uday Narayan Chaudhary lost; HAM's Prafull Manjhi won.
On all these seats, it was observed that internal conflicts within the Mahagathbandhan scattered the votes. In many cases, Congress defeated RJD, and RJD defeated Congress, benefiting third parties like JDU and BJP. The separate meetings of RJD and Congress seem limited to saving the prestige of internal leaders. The real question is why internal conflicts occurred within the alliance and what concrete steps were taken to prevent defeat.
