After setbacks in recent Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi, Congress is now focusing on the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls. The party will contest as part of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance).

While Congress leadership is prioritizing Bihar, with Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, visiting the state twice recently, the party’s organizational structure remains in disarray. The Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) executive committee has not been formed since 2017, despite Akhilesh Singh’s appointment as BPCC president by AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge in December 2022.

According to multiple Congress insiders, the key PCC panel has been absent for the last eight years. One AICC leader from Bihar commented, “I don’t know the reason for this. It has not been there for at least eight years.”

A senior Bihar Congress leader shared that he raised the issue of the missing PCC committee with the top leadership but received no response. “I suggested that we strengthen the party’s organization in Bihar if we hope to do well in the Assembly elections, but I got no reply. Hopefully, the committee will be formed before the elections,” he added, noting that some district Congress committees (DCCs) remain unformed.

Former Bihar Congress vice-president Brajesh Pandey expressed optimism that the PCC executive committee would soon be constituted, stating, “It will be cleared soon. The district committees are already in place.”

The Congress has struggled in recent Bihar elections, relying heavily on its ally, RJD, for relevance in the state. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress secured only one of the nine seats it contested, while the NDA alliance swept with 39 out of 40 seats. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, Congress won 19 of the 70 seats it contested, with RJD winning 75 out of 144 seats. The Mahagathbandhan was still outpaced by the NDA, which secured 15 more seats.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress won three out of nine seats, while RJD secured four of 23. The NDA took 30 seats. With Bihar’s Assembly elections approaching in October-November, Congress is under increasing pressure to ensure a strong alliance with RJD and revitalize its state unit.

Internally, there has been unrest within the Bihar Congress, with some leaders seeking a change in leadership. BPCC president Akhilesh Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP from the upper-caste Bhumihar community, faces growing calls to be replaced by a leader from OBCs, Dalits, or minorities. Some party members have even criticized his ties to Lalu Prasad.

A senior Bihar Congress leader explained, “There is a lack of trust in Akhilesh Singh because of his closeness to the Lalu Prasad family.” Before joining Congress, Singh was with RJD and had served as an MLA, minister, and Union minister.

The Congress also faces challenges from Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), which has been gaining ground. In the 2023 by-elections, JSP’s presence was seen as a factor in the RJD’s loss of two key seats. Kishor is focusing on communities such as Dalits and Muslims, which are a significant part of Mahagathbandhan’s vote base, creating further concerns for Congress and its allies.