"Congress is living in fantasy building first floor without ground floor": Jan Suraaj's Pavan Varma on Bihar poll results

New Delhi [India], November 16 (ANI): Jan Suraaj spokesperson Pavan Varma claimed that the Congress, the party that ruled the state for almost 40 years, has now become virtually non-existent in Bihar, and its on-the-ground organisation has almost collapsed in the state after its lacklustre performance in the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls.
He criticised the Congress's "fantasy-driven" politics, comparing it to constructing a house without a solid base, stressing that the party lacks the organisational strength required for success.
In an interview with ANI, Varma said, "The Congress party's ambitions exceed their electoral capacity, and they don't understand one basic thing: that except in fantasy, the first floor of a house can't be built without a foundation. Congress's on-the-ground organisation has almost collapsed. In Bihar, they were virtually nonexistent."
The Jan Suraaj leader argued that Congress's reliance on stunts, such as Rahul Gandhi's motorcycle ride and pond bath, is no substitute for hard work and grassroots presence.
"Rahul Gandhi might come during elections and ride a motorcycle, or jump into a pond to take a bath. It would make headlines, but the Congress party isn't strong," he added.
Varma further said that he was "not at all surprised" by the Congress's performance in the election, stating that the party's ambitions exceeded their actual electoral capacity.
In these 2025 Bihar elections, parties of the Mahagathbandhan, including the RJD and Congress, suffered significant setbacks.
In a major poll debacle, Congress, which contested around 61 seats, managed to win only 6 seats out of them.
The NDA's 'tsunami' swept away the opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 89 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) finishing a close second with 85. The other allies of the ruling coalition also registered high strike rates.
The ruling NDA got 202 seats, a three-fourths majority in the 243-member House. This is the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-mark in the assembly polls. In the 2010 polls, it had won 206 seats.
In the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, Janata Dal (United) won 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) won five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha won four seats.
In Mahagathbandhan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) - CPI(ML)(L) - two, Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) - one and Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(M) one seat.
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won five seats, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got one seat. (ANI)
Responding to allegations that Jan Suraaj is the "B team" of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Varma said that if that is the case, he admires the tolerance of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"If we are the team-B of the BJP, then we applaud their tolerance... In Bihar, we put four or five NDA ministers on trial with evidence and documents of corruption... Our arrival has created a third option, one that was previously weak. People may have thought that we shouldn't let RJD come to power. Therefore, they strengthened those who can defeat them...," he said.
Jan Suraaj failed to open an account in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections. Even after garnering huge public support during the campaign, the party was unable to win a single seat.
Pavan Varma explained the electoral outcome of the Bihar Assembly Election and said, "We offered the public a third option. But the people of Bihar did not want the RJD to return, so they used their vote to keep the party in power that was already there."
On the question of whether Jan Suraaj "hit above its weight," Varma said, "Which party does not project its status to attract people?... We had faith that the issues we were raising were right. The people seemed to be on our side. We did get votes... Ups and downs are part of politics." (ANI)