Bihar Congress Stays United At Meeting With Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge; Party Aims At Strengthening Itself

Patna: The Congress saved the day as all its six Bihar MLAs attended the meeting called by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in Delhi on Friday. It quelled the speculations about an imminent split and paved the way for preparing a future strategy for the state.

It had won just six seats – Valmiki Nagar, Chanpatia, Forbesganj, Araria, Kishanganj and Manihari – in the recently held Assembly polls, and the respective MLAs – Surendra Prasad, Abhishek Ranjan, Manoj Bishwas, Abidur Rahman, Qamrul Hoda, and Manohar Prasad Singh – had not been attending the party programmes since the results. This gave credence to talks about a split in the offing.

However, their presence at the meeting called by the Congress high command indicated that they were with the party. They voiced their concerns on the occasion and were part of the discussions on the future plans of the party in Bihar.

“The leaders from Bihar had a meeting with party president Kharge ji and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ji. Party general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and other senior leaders were also present on the occasion,” the Congress wrote on social media platform X while sharing photographs of the occasion.

Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Rajesh Kumar aka Rajesh Ram, MLC and former BPCC president Madan Mohan Jha; its Lok Sabha members Manoj Kumar (Sasaram), Mohammad Jawed (Kishanganj), and Tariq Anwar (Katihar), and Rajya Sabha members Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Ranjeet Ranjan, were among those who were present at the meeting.

Independent MP from Purnea, Rajesh Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav, was also present in the later part of the meeting. He is the husband of Ranjeet Ranjan.

“Our party is united and is working to strengthen its organisation. We always asserted that there is not going to be any split. It was just a rumour spread by the ruling parties for their own vested interests,” senior Congress leader and ex-MLA Harkhu Jha told ETV Bharat. Meanwhile, the leaders present at the Delhi meeting discussed the way forward with Kharge and Rahul.

“A legislature party leader for the Bihar Legislative Assembly will be soon elected and notified. Various organisational changes and appointments will also be made. Rahul ji has underlined the need to increase the reach and space of the party in the state. A coordination committee will be formed for this purpose,” a senior Bihar Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity.

“A major decision has been taken with regard to the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The high command will appoint one observer for each of them with eyes on strengthening the party’s presence for the next general elections. Rahul ji has stressed that all of us should work at the grassroots,” the senior leader added.

The Delhi meeting with Bihar leaders will also break the standstill from which the party was suffering in the state after its devastating performance in the Assembly polls. Kharge and Rahul also chaired a meeting on the forthcoming elections in five states and Union Territories, including West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry.

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