D. Raja faults Congress for complacency and weak alliance-building, despite campaign buzz for Tejashwi, leading to Mahagathbandhan's 35-seat drubbing versus NDA's 202.
While acknowledging SIR and 'vote chori' claims, Raja highlights strategic errors like poor seat-sharing and Muslim vote splits by AIMIM, urging opposition introspection.
Echoes CPI(M)'s critique; Congress hits back at ECI bias, but internal rifts threaten INDIA unity as BJP hails mandate as rejection of opposition 'lies.'
Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D. Raja on Saturday openly blamed the Congress for the resounding defeat of the Mahagathbandhan in the Bihar Assembly elections, asserting that the alliance's failure to consolidate anti-BJP votes and ineffective seat-sharing doomed their prospects despite strong grassroots support for RJD's Tejashwi Yadav. Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Raja highlighted the "huge popular response" witnessed during CPI campaigns but lamented the final tally, Mahagathbandhan scraping just 35 seats (RJD 25, Congress 6, CPI(ML)-L 2, CPI(M) 1, IIP 1) against the NDA's commanding 202 (BJP 89, JD(U) 85, others 28), calling it a missed opportunity due to Congress's "lack of seriousness" in forging a robust secular front.
The critique echoes broader opposition recriminations post the November 14 results, with CPI(M)'s Kerala secretary M.V. Govindan similarly faulting Congress for failing to unite regional parties, while Raja urged a "detailed analysis" beyond blaming the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) or alleged "vote chori."
Congress leaders like Jairam Ramesh and Rahul Gandhi have countered by accusing the ECI of bias and NDA manipulation, but Raja stressed tactical lapses, like inadequate Muslim outreach and vote fragmentation by AIMIM's five-seat haul in Seemanchal, exacerbated the rout, plummeting Congress to its worst Bihar showing since 2010 with just six wins from 62 contests. BJP's rejoinder dismissed the finger-pointing as "sour grapes," crediting SIR's fake-voter purge for their sweep and mocking opposition's EVM and EC jibes as excuses for internal discord.
As Bihar's new NDA government takes shape under Nitish Kumar, Raja's salvo signals deepening fissures in the INDIA bloc, with calls for "course correction" ahead of 2026 state polls, underscoring the perils of fragmented opposition against Modi's juggernaut.
 and Rahul Gandhi (R)?w=200&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max "Congress Expels Seven Party Leaders In Bihar After Poll Debacle, Citing Indiscipline")
