The Congress party has suffered one of its weakest performances in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, managing to lead in only four constituencies despite an aggressive, high-decibel campaign centred on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ allegations. The party had set its sights on influencing 116 seats through Gandhi’s statewide outreach, but early trends on counting day painted a starkly different picture.
INDIA Bloc Strategy Fails to Deliver
The Mahagathbandhan’s campaign in Bihar had heavily leaned on the ‘Vote Chori’ narrative, with Rahul Gandhi repeatedly framing the election as a battle for safeguarding democratic rights. His extensive travel across Bihar, backed by social media amplification, was designed to galvanise young voters and strengthen the alliance. However, the results show that the message failed to resonate, as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) moved towards a record victory in the 2025 polls.
Congress’ strike rate was particularly alarming. Contesting 61 seats as a junior partner within the alliance, the party managed to lead in only four—less than 2 per cent. This underperformance not only weakened its own prospects but also contributed to the Mahagathbandhan’s overall struggle to remain competitive against a resurgent NDA.
Rahul Gandhi’s Claims and Press Conferences Fail to Create Momentum
Rahul Gandhi had held multiple press conferences ahead of polling, alleging widespread manipulation of voter rolls and tampering attempts by authorities. During a briefing on November 6, he presented what he described as evidence of fraud, stating that a Brazilian model appeared on Haryana’s voter list 22 times under various names such as Seema and Sweety.
He also told young voters on the same day, “Gen Z brothers and sisters,” urging them to decide Bihar’s future while again stressing the “vote chori” issue. His assertions around a promised “hydrogen bomb” of evidence, along with claims of mass deletion and data manipulation, became central to the Congress narrative but failed to produce electoral traction.
Congress’ campaign also spotlighted the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive and the Voter Adhikar Yatra, but the party struggled to translate these issues into ground-level support. Despite the repeated accusations targeting the Centre and the Election Commission, the electorate seemed unmoved.
Historic Decline Marks Congress’ Diminished Role in Bihar
The latest results represent a dramatic fall from Congress’ earlier electoral footing in the state. In the 2020 Assembly elections, the party had won 27 of the 70 seats it contested, achieving a 38 per cent strike rate. The 2025 numbers underscore not just a setback, but an accelerating slide.
Once a dominant force in Bihar—winning a majority in 1985 and emerging strong again in 1990—the Congress’ influence began deteriorating in the mid-1990s. The 2000 bifurcation of Bihar, which led to the creation of Jharkhand, further shifted the political balance and paved the way for regional players such as RJD and JD(U) to dominate the state’s landscape.
By 2005, the party’s vote share had plummeted, and despite occasional upticks in later years, Congress struggled to regain its earlier stature. The 2025 election results now mark one of its sharpest declines, reinforcing concerns about the party’s diminishing relevance in the state’s evolving political dynamics.
