As the NDA celebrates a landslide, the Congress party's electoral machinery lies in tatters, raising existential questions about its leadership and future.
The 2025 Bihar assembly election results have delivered a seismic shock to the Indian National Congress, with the party's dismal performance emerging as the central storyline of a larger opposition rout. The Congress, part of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), contested 61 seats but managed to win a mere six, cementing its status as the weakest link in the coalition and precipitating a fresh wave of internal turmoil.
The verdict has forced a moment of brutal reckoning for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who acknowledged the outcome as "truly shocking" and alleged that the election was "not fair from the start". However, this fake narative has done little to assuage concerns within a party that appears to be in a perpetual state of decline under his leadership, with the Bihar results marking one of its worst-ever performances in the state .
The Numbers of a Debacle: The statistical breakdown of the Congress party's performance reveals the depth of the electoral collapse. The following table illustrates the stark decline in the party's efficacy within the alliance:
Election Year Seats Contested Seats Won Strike Rate
2020 70 19 27.14%
2025 61 6 9.8%
This plummeting strike rate—the percentage of contested seats won—was the lowest among all major Mahagathbandhan partners. The party's contested vote share also fell to 34.1%, a significant drop from the 41.2% it recorded in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, indicating a rapid erosion of its voter base.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), in a contrasting display of dominance, secured a thumping victory with 202 of the 243 seats, returning Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for a record term. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) itself won 89 seats, its highest-ever tally in a Bihar assembly election.
A Leadership Under Fire: For Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Bihar verdict is the latest in a long line of electoral setbacks. Since he began influencing the party's decision-making around 2009, the Congress has lost 71 of the 83 state assembly elections held across India, a record that points to a systemic and leadership-driven crisis.
In his initial reaction, Gandhi took to social media to voice his dismay. "I express my heartfelt gratitude to the millions of voters in Bihar who placed their faith in the Grand Alliance. This result in Bihar is truly shocking," he wrote. "We failed to win an election that was not fair from the start. This fight is to protect the Constitution and democracy".
Party president Mallikarjun Kharge echoed the same sentiment, stating that the Congress would "study the election results in depth" and present a detailed account after understanding the reasons for the defeat. He sought to rally demoralized workers, calling them the party's "pride, honour, and glory," and vowed to continue the struggle to "save the Constitution and democracy".
Internal Dissent and Organizational Failure: Beyond the public statements, voices of discontent have emerged from within the party, pointing to profound organizational failures. Senior Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh acknowledged that while Rahul Gandhi had "worked hard" and drew "unexpected crowds" during the campaign, the party machinery failed to convert this energy into votes .
"The responsibility was of the members of the organisation to take that message to the masses, which we failed to do," Singh admitted in a candid assessment. He highlighted that an excessive focus on ticket distribution and internal matters distracted key leaders at a critical juncture. "The Bihar Congress President was also contesting the election. The CLP was also contesting. No one was there to oversee it. It seemed like there was no management of the election at all" .
Another Congress MP, Tariq Anwar, pointed to the public squabbling over seat sharing within the Mahagathbandhan as a damaging factor. "This message should not have gone to the public that there were differences within the alliance over seat sharing, due to which we had to face a loss," he stated .
The Structural Decline of a National Party: The Bihar results are not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of contraction. The Congress party, which once governed a vast majority of India's states, now has a significant presence in only three—Karnataka, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh. Its total number of MLAs across the country has nearly halved in the past decade, a stark indicator of its withering organizational vitality.
Political analysts suggest the party has failed to articulate a compelling alternative governance agenda or rebuild its grassroots structures, particularly in the politically crucial Hindi heartland. The party's absence in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh is no longer just a strategic deficit but a threat to its very survival as a national force.
The Road Ahead: An Existential Crossroads: The aftermath of the Bihar defeat leaves the Congress at an existential crossroads. The party must confront the uncomfortable truth that its leadership, rooted in the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, may have lost its electoral potency. The brand that once commanded loyalty across castes and regions now seems unable to inspire even its own cadre.
The choice before the party is brutally simple. It can continue its reliance on a leadership that has "presided over its contraction," or it can execute a "clean, unambiguous break" and find a leader who is "hungry, not hesitant; present, not periodic". The Congress must decide whether it will evolve or continue its slide into political irrelevance.
As the dust settles on the Bihar battleground, the resounding defeat is more than a numerical loss; it is a symptom of a deeper malais. For Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, the message from the electorate is clear: the politics of inheritance is no match for the power of a robust organization and a compelling vision. The countdown to redemption—or oblivion—has well and truly begun.
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