'Congress may see split soon': PM Modi predicts after results
What's the story
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has predicted that the Indian National Congress (INC) could face another split soon, just after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a landslide victory in the Bihar elections. Speaking to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and supporters at the party headquarters in Delhi, PM Modi said, "The Congress criticizes the Election Commission, makes frivolous complaints about baseless issues like 'vote chori', divides people on the basis of religion and caste."
Political critique
PM Modi criticizes Congress's political strategy
PM Modi further slammed the Congress party, saying it has "no positive vision for the country." "The truth is that today, Congress, and I say this very seriously, today Congress has become the Muslim League Maoist Congress," he said, adding that a new branch within the party is emerging, "which is worse than this negative politics." The Prime Minister also noted that this new section has disappointed many within the party.
Election outcome
Bihar election results favor NDA, BJP
In the just-concluded Bihar elections, the NDA won 202 of the state's 243 seats. The BJP is the single-largest party with 89 seats. It also received the second-highest votes at 20.8%. The BJP's ally, Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), won on 85 seats, and had a vote share of 19.25% Meanwhile, Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has had one of its worst performances in Bihar, winning only 25 seats, even though it received the highest vote share at 23%.
Party decline
Congress's performance declines in Bihar elections
The Congress party's performance has also declined in these elections. From winning 19 seats in 2020, it won just five seats. Its vote share has also dropped from 9.48% to around 8.71%. The party's poor performance was a result of a lackluster campaign and failure to reach an agreement with allies on seat-sharing arrangements.
Campaign flaws
Congress's campaign and seat-sharing issues
The Congress party's campaign fizzled out after an initial push from Rahul Gandhi's Voter Adhikar Yatra. The lack of coordination with allies meant that parties fielded candidates unilaterally, leading to friendly contests in some seats. Despite these setbacks, both the Congress and the RJD maintained that their decisions were based on ground realities.