Rahul Gandhi Claims Bihar Assembly Election "Unfair From Beginning" as Congress Secures Only Six Seats

The Congress won only six seats in the Bihar Assembly election.

In his first reaction after the party's disappointing defeat, Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi has stated that the Bihar Assembly election was unfair from its beginning.

Taking to X on Friday after it became evident that the Mahagathbandhan would collectively fail to reach 40 seats while the NDA secured 202 in the 243-member Assembly, Gandhi indicated the result was unexpected and emphasized that the greater struggle remains "the protection of the Constitution and democracy".

Without directly mentioning 'vote theft', an issue for which he had conducted a Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, Gandhi stated, "I express my sincere gratitude to the millions of voters in Bihar who placed their trust in the Mahagathbandhan. This Bihar result is truly surprising. We couldn't achieve victory in an election that wasn't fair from the very beginning."

He continued, "This fight concerns the protection of the Constitution and democracy. The Congress party and the INDIA alliance will thoroughly examine this result and strengthen their efforts to preserve democracy."

The Congress, which was criticized for underperforming within the Mahagathbandhan when it won only 19 of 70 contested seats in 2020, managed to secure just six out of 61 seats this time. The RJD, the other major alliance party, performed even worse, winning only 25 of its allocated 143 seats, down significantly from 75 out of 144 previously.

Allegations regarding the misuse of "constitutional institutions" were also raised by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge around the same time as Gandhi's statements.

"We respect the Bihar people's decision and will continue our fight against forces working to weaken democracy by misusing constitutional institutions. We will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the election results and present a detailed perspective after understanding the outcome reasons," Kharge wrote on X.

"I want to assure every Congress worker there's no need for discouragement. You are our pride, honor, and glory. Your dedication is our strength. We will spare no effort in raising public awareness. We will continue the struggle to protect the Constitution and democracy by remaining among the people. This is a long fight - and we will pursue it with complete dedication, courage, and truth," he added.