Congress is Grand Alliance's punching bag

After the Congress slowed down the Grand Alliance's march in Bihar polls, alliance partners in the dispensation have begun targeting the party for selection of weak candidates and a mismanaged campaign. The party won only 19 of the 70 seats it contested.

While the NDA got 125 seats, the RJD-led Grand Alliance could only reach 110.

Deepankar Bhattaracharya of CPI(ML) said the GA should not have accommodated such a large number of candidates from the Congress.

RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari said former Congress president Rahul Gandhi failed to impress voters. While Tejashwi held up to 18 meetings a day, Rahul could address only two meetings. The Congress should have invited Priyanka Gandhi and her presence could have impressed female electorate, he said.

Even senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar blamed his own partymen over the low score. He regretted there was "some thing wrong" in the selection of the candidates, campaign strategy and co-ordination".

In 2015, the Congress had contested on 40 seats and won 27 of them.

Published on: Friday, November 13, 2020, 12:47 AM IST