"Rahul Gandhi worked hard, but party members failed to take messages to masses": Congress' Akhilesh Singh on Bihar poll debacle

New Delhi [India], November 17 (ANI): After the Mahagathbandhan was routed in the Bihar polls, senior Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh on Monday acknowledged major organisational lapses within the party, despite the strong public response received by Rahul Gandhi and the Mahagathbandhan leadership during the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'.
Speaking to ANI, Singh stated Rahul Gandhi had "worked hard," drew "unexpected crowds" and received an "impressive, unprecedented welcome," but the party failed to convert this energy into electoral gains.
The Congress leader pointed out that the excessive focus on ticket distribution and internal matters distracted key leaders at a critical time.
Akhilesh Prasad Singh said, "It's true that Rahul Gandhi worked hard, and when he went to twenty-five districts against the SIR, he, along with the leaders of the Mahagathbandhan, drew unexpected crowds and received an impressive, unprecedented welcome everywhere. Now, the responsibility was of the members of the organisation to take that message to the masses, which we failed to do."
"Perhaps everyone was busy distributing tickets. This also created difficulties. The Bihar Congress President was also contesting the election. The CLP was also contesting. No one was there to oversee it. It seemed like there was no management of the election at all. So, all these difficulties were faced. This is a collective responsibility; everyone will sit together and decide together," he added.
Congress MP Tariq Anwar also conveyed the same message on the issue, saying, "The issue of seat sharing remained unresolved for a long time. This message should not have gone to the public that there were differences within the alliance over seat sharing, due to which we had to face a loss."
The Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 were held in two phases, on November 6 and November 11. The counting of the votes was done on November 14, resulting in the NDA's victory in Bihar.
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.
Mahagathbandhan got just 35 seats with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) winning 25 seats, Congress 6, 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.
While All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won five seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got one seat. (ANI)