Rahul Gandhi to address virtual rallies in poll-bound Bihar amid chaos in Congress party

Amid internal chaos in Congress, Rahul Gandhi is set to campaign in the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar, said sources on Saturday. Rahul Gandhi's eyes at Congress fortune in Bihar as well as aims to motivate party workers ahead of the campaign season, sources added. Congress' election in-charge and national secretary Ajay Kapoor said that the former Congress chief will conduct 100 virtual rallies throughout the state from September 1 to 21.

“Each rally will be addressed by two national leaders, five state leaders and 10 district-level leaders who will talk about people’s cause and how the Congress would provide redressal of public issues. To mobilise the masses for this program, a missed call campaign will also be launched,” he added. On the question of seat distribution in the grand alliance, he said that it was up to the high command to decide on such matters. “It will be amicably done in the atmosphere of mutual respect,” he added.

Congress' campaign comes at a time when Mahagathbandhan has already lost one of its key alliances - former CM JItan Ram Manjhi's HAM. The decision to walk out of the five-party opposition coalition in Bihar was taken at the Hindustani Awam Morcha's core committee meeting at Manjhi's residence in Patna. Manjhi's step to quit Mahagathbandhan also comes days after former JDU Dalit leader Shyam Rajak joined RJD.

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Bihar assembly elections 

Amid rising COVID-19 cases, Bihar is all set to go to polls for a 243-member assembly seat this year. While BJP and JDU have said that they will contest the polls with CM Nitish Kumar as the leader, the Mahagathbandhan consisting of RJD, Congress, HAM, and others are still discussing the name of former CM Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav. 

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While Kumar faces strong anti-incumbency, RJD - Bihar's main opposition has lost the luster it once had due to the absence of it's chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.  Meanwhile, former JDU vice president Prashant Kishor has also claimed that he is working at 'ground level' for the development of Bihar.  In a twist of sorts, London-based Pushpam Priya Choudhary, the daughter of JDU leader Binod Choudhary, on March 8 declared herself as the Chief Ministerial candidate.

In the 2015 assembly polls, CM Nitish Kumar's JDU, then a part of the Mahagathbandhan won 71 seats, Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD won 80 seats, and Congress won 27 seats. The BJP which fought the elections alone after Kumar in 2013 broke the 17-year-old alliance won a mere 53 seats out of 157 contested. However, the saffron party came back to power when Kumar ditched the Mahagathbandhan and once again stitched an alliance with the BJP.

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