Bihar Congress Post-Poll Review Turns Turbulent as Leaders Allege Ticket Sales
Defeated candidates accuse state bosses of auctioning seats for crores..
At the first post-election review meeting of the Bihar Congress, held at the party headquarters in Patna, deep-seated resentment over ticket distribution erupted into an intense confrontation in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi. Defeated candidates openly charged that seats were sold to the highest bidders and that “friendly fights” orchestrated with allies sabotaged the campaign, contributing directly to the party’s worst-ever performance in the state.
The Congress was reduced to a humiliating six seats out of 61 contested, marking a near-total collapse of its organisational strength in Bihar. Sources revealed that losing candidates were summoned in groups to explain constituency-level failures, while the six victorious MLAs were granted private audiences with the central leadership. The conspicuous absence of General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal and AICC Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru from the review process fuelled further speculation of accountability evasion at the highest levels.
Newly elected Araria MLA Abidur Rahman confirmed he had submitted a list of senior leaders allegedly responsible for the debacle, explicitly citing instances of ticket selling and the systematic sidelining of longstanding workers. He disclosed that even he, one of the most senior Congress faces in the Seemanchal region, was initially denied nomination until the last moment, underscoring the depth of arbitrariness in candidate selection.
Also Read: Bihar Deputy CM Holds Key Talks With Amit Shah on Security, Development Push
Multiple participants reportedly highlighted how tickets were handed to recent defectors with no grassroots base while loyal workers were ignored, breeding widespread demotivation. Internal factionalism, contradictory directives from Delhi, and poor coordination with Mahagathbandhan allies were identified as additional factors that left the party unprepared against a resurgent NDA.
In a damage-control post on X, K C Venugopal shifted focus to alleged electoral malpractice by the ruling dispensation, claiming systematic voter list manipulation and cash distribution under the MMRY scheme. However, the charges failed to deflect attention from the party’s internal reckoning, with voices within the Bihar unit demanding immediate punitive action against those who turned the Congress campaign into what many now describe as an open auction.
Also Read: Bihar Home Portfolio Handed to Samrat Chaudhary, Signals “Yogi Model” Policing
