Shashi Tharoor Addresses Congress's Poor Performance in Bihar Elections: "We Were Not the Senior Partner"

The Congress MP emphasized that women voters in Bihar were provided with incentives before the elections.

Following the Congress party's poor performance in the Bihar Assembly elections, MP Shashi Tharoor pointed out that his party was "not the senior partner" in the alliance, suggesting that both Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) led by Tejashwi Yadav need to thoroughly examine their electoral performance.

"Currently, it's a question of leading positions. They are ahead by a substantial margin. However, we should wait for the Election Commission to officially announce the results. The party certainly has a responsibility to analyze the causes in detail. But it's important to remember that we weren't the senior alliance partner, and RJD must also carefully evaluate its own performance. In matters like this, examining our overall performance is crucial," Tharoor stated.

He noted that elections involve multiple factors.

"We must consider public sentiment, organizational strengths and weaknesses - there are numerous aspects to analyze. Many elements need to be reviewed to understand what went wrong and what went right. But let's await the final results before drawing conclusions," he remarked.

Tharoor commented that women voters in Bihar had received "incentives" just before the implementation of the Code of Conduct.

"Whether we approve or not, this practice is unfortunately legal under our current laws. This isn't the first instance of state governments offering benefits to specific segments of society. It's not uncommon, though I don't consider it a healthy practice. We've observed similar patterns in Maharashtra and other states previously. There's a tendency to distribute such rewards before elections. We should analyze the results comprehensively, and those directly involved in the campaign would need to study them more thoroughly," he explained.

Today's Bihar Assembly election results will determine if Nitish Kumar, the state's longest-serving chief minister, retains his position for a fifth consecutive term. Current data indicates the NDA is leading in over 200 seats, well above the majority threshold of 122 seats. The BJP is ahead in 91 seats, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) leads in 80. Union Minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is leading in 21 seats, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha in five, and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha in three seats.

The Mahagathbandhan alliance is currently ahead in 36 seats. Congress, which has historically struggled in Bihar, has performed poorly again, leading in only four seats out of the 61 it contested.

In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the RJD emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats. However, Congress underperformed, and the NDA formed the government. Congress won just 19 seats despite contesting 70. The Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance secured a majority in the 243-member Assembly, largely driven by the BJP's 74 seats, while JD(U) won 43 seats.