Analysts warn that if Congress doesn’t act soon, Tejashwi’s solo battle may hand the NDA another easy victory.
BY Navin Upadhyay
October 28, 2025: As the Bihar Assembly elections heat up with just weeks to go, the Mahagathbandhan alliance—comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and smaller partners—finds itself in a precarious bind. While RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has been pounding the pavements with promises of jobs, investments, and welfare schemes, the Congress high command appears to have gone radio silent.
Rahul Gandhi, who headlined a high-profile three-week “Vote Adhikar Yatra” in September to rally voters against alleged electoral malpractices, has been conspicuously missing from the campaign trail. Reports of strained ties over seat-sharing have snowballed into whispers of a deliberate distancing, leaving observers to question: Is the Congress subtly undermining its ally to engineer Tejashwi’s defeat?
The alliance was meant to present a united front against the ruling NDA of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Yet, internal fissures have dominated headlines more than anti-incumbency rhetoric.
Rahul Gandhi’s absence isn’t mere oversight—it’s a symptom of deeper discord. Rahul ji’s yatra was a masterstroke, drawing massive crowds and putting the spotlight on voter rights. But post-yatra, there has been no follow-through. It’s as if the momentum was built only to be abandoned.
The Seat-Sharing Saga: From Talks to Tiffs
The root of the tension lies in protracted seat-sharing negotiations, a perennial headache for opposition alliances in Bihar. The RJD, as the senior partner, demanded the lion’s share of the 243 seats, projecting Tejashwi as the chief ministerial face—a move Congress initially resisted.
Congress pushed for at least 70 seats, citing its improved performance in the Lok Sabha polls and Rahul’s personal investments in the state through multiple visits earlier in the year. The RJD, however, offered as few as 50, viewing Congress as a junior partner beholden to Lalu’s legacy.
Flashpoints emerged over five key constituencies in the Seemanchal region—Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, and others—where Congress has strong incumbents, including independents like Pappu Yadav aligned with the party.
By late October, a fragile truce was cobbled together: Congress settled for around 60 seats, bracing for “friendly” contest on several eats. Ashok Gehlot, Congress’s Bihar observer and former Rajasthan chief minister, played mediator, holding parleys with Tejashwi and assuring a “united fight against the NDA.”
Yet, the damage was done. Social media erupted with images of Congress workers clashing with party leaders over ticket denials, and RJD posters mysteriously cropping up without Rahul’s face—a subtle snub amid the acrimony.
“Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav are not even on talking terms anymore,” confided a Mahagathbandhan insider. “The yatra was joint, but now it’s every leader for themselves. Congress feels shortchanged, and the high command’s silence speaks volumes.”
तेजस्वी का पोस्टर, राहुल गायब! महागठबंधन में नया विवाद?
Bihar 2025 elections heat up! A joint Mahagathbandhan poster features only Tejashwi Yadav — no Rahul Gandhi, no Congress symbol. Is this a mistake or a political message? pic.twitter.com/8Qp7cEyaR0— United Bharat (@UnitedBharatUP) October 23, 2025
Missing in Action: The Gandhi Siblings and Kharge
The void at the top is stark. Rahul Gandhi, who crisscrossed Bihar seven times in the first half of 2025 to woo Dalit and OBC voters, has prioritized national tours and international engagements over the state poll grind.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, often the alliance’s charismatic face in Hindi heartland battles, has been absent. Even Mallikarjun Kharge, credited with steadying the party’s ship post-2024 Lok Sabha drubbing, has skipped Bihar rallies, delegating to mid-rung leaders like Gehlot and state in-charge Krishna Allavaru.
This isn’t the first sign of Congress’s half-hearted commitment. In June, the party was reportedly “hesitant” to back Tejashwi as CM face, pushing for a “more inclusive” image beyond the RJD’s Muslim-Yadav base.
BJP leaders, sensing blood, have pounced: Union Minister Chirag Paswan quipped, “Where’s Rahul Gandhi? His rallies only boost NDA turnout.” Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya echoed, “Rahul tours abroad and the country, but skips Bihar—Tejashwi’s insult to his partner is showing.”
A scheduled joint rally between Rahul and Tejashwi on October 29 in Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga offers a glimmer of reconciliation, but skepticism runs deep.
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Scripting Defeat? Observers Smell a Rat
Political pundits are divided on Congress’s game plan. Some see it as tactical retreat: Conceding ground to Tejashwi preserves the alliance without overcommitting resources to a likely loss.
Others, however, detect sabotage. “Congress is scripting Tejashwi’s defeat,” argues a BJP spokesperson , pointing to Rahul’s history of “humiliating” the Yadavs—from tearing the 2010 land ordinance that could have aided Lalu, to treating Tejashwi as a “driver” during the yatra.
In a state where alliances win or wither, this inertia could prove fatal. Tejashwi’s pledges—jobs, doubling panchayat allowances, Rs 30,000 salaries for Jeevika women, and industrial hubs—resonate with youth and women, but without Congress’s organizational muscle and star power, they risk fizzling out.
The Left partners (CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML)) and Vikasheel Insaan Party have thrown in behind Tejashwi, but their combined vote share hovers at single digits.
A Wake-Up Call for the Opposition?
As ballots loom, Bihar’s voters—wary of 2020’s fractured mandate that birthed Nitish’s NDA flip-flop—may punish disunity. Congress’s absence isn’t just logistical; it’s a betrayal of the “maha parivartan” vow.
If Rahul, Priyanka, and Kharge don’t hit the trail soon, the Mahagathbandhan’s dream of ousting the NDA could evaporate, handing Modi and Nitish a third straight term.
For now, Tejashwi soldiers on alone, but the alliance’s fault lines mirror a broader opposition malaise: ambitious rhetoric, anemic execution. In the end, Bihar’s fate may hinge not on promises, but on whether egos yield to electoral math.
The clock is ticking—and Congress’s bigwigs are nowhere in sight.
