Exclusive | Congress Cadres Infused With New Energy After Voter Adhikar Yatra, Claims Party Chief In Bihar
Party to contest on respectable number of seats in Bihar assembly polls
Published : September 7, 2025 at 8:17 PM IST
Patna: The success of Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar on the eve of the state assembly elections has given a fillip to the Congress that had been pushed to the margins of the state politics after 1990.
In an interview with ETV Bharat, the state unit chief of the Congress, Rajesh Ram, claimed that the party will contest the elections on a respectable number of seats in alliance with other components of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
"The Congress is fighting against the kind of politics Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) practices, be it acts against the Constitution or issues like vote theft. There is no role of elder brother or younger brother in this. Now the party is looking at how to strengthen INDIA,” he said.
He said the Congress has been able to win back the trust of Dalits and other marginalized communities of the state and its sole aim at present is to remove the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from power.
Responding to a query on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of votes in Bihar, Ram said that it is no longer a political issue but one connected with the people. Not only the people of Bihar but those across the country are going to raise the issue of vote theft, he said.
“The manner in which Rahul Gandhi has exposed vote theft, the people are convinced of the designs of the BJP in connivance with the Election Commission of India (ECI),” he said.
He claimed the Voter Adhikar Yatra has infused a new energy in the party cadres. “Seeing this I am convinced that the Congress supporters who were sitting quietly are now filled with energy once again. They feel the party is once again doing politics based on issues. I can say with confidence that the Congress party is second to none in Bihar,” Ram claimed.
When asked about the concerns around unity in the party, he said, “We are clearly telling our workers that it is your right to ask for a ticket, you should claim the ticket. But you should work hard for the victory of the person to whom the party gives the ticket. If there is factionalism on the issue of tickets, then the party becomes weak.”
On the controversial issue of the abuse of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother, he said that no Congress leader was present on the stage from where the abuse was hurled. “It was the BJP workers using this kind of language. Congress is a party that follows truth and non-violence. We follow Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) and we can never be with those who killed him. We oppose both physical and verbal violence.”
When asked about the chief ministerial face of the INDIA bloc, particularly Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav’s prospects, Ram said that Tejaswi is the Vihar coordinator of the alliance and also the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly. However, the chief ministerial candidate will be decided after the elections.
On the poll campaign, he said the Congress will field the top leadership in the campaign for the electoral battle.
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