The opposition parties in India are facing deep confusion and internal disagreements after suffering their fourth major defeat in recent state elections. The latest loss came in Bihar, where the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a landslide victory, leaving the Congress and its allies struggling to understand what went wrong. The Congress, which had 19 seats earlier, fell to just six seats, while its partner Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) managed only 25 seats, its worst performance in 15 years. Different opposition leaders gave conflicting explanations for the defeat. Some blamed alleged vote manipulation, while others admitted the need for serious introspection. This loss follows similar defeats in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Delhi, with only Jharkhand providing a small victory. The opposition now faces a major challenge in creating messages that connect with voters, as the ruling BJP coalition continues to dominate by combining wider caste support, welfare schemes announced just before elections, and strong campaign strategies. Many opposition leaders admit they failed to address real issues that matter to ordinary people, relying instead on slogans that did not resonate with voters.
Conflicting Responses From Congress Leadership
After the Bihar election results, Congress leaders sent out very different messages, showing internal disagreement. Party communications chief Jairam Ramesh claimed the results showed vote manipulation on a gigantic scale, blaming the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and Election Commission. However, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge avoided any such allegations and simply said the party respects the mandate given by voters. He promised to conduct a thorough study of the results. Rahul Gandhi took a middle path, calling the outcome startling and saying the elections were not fair from the very beginning, though he stopped short of directly claiming vote theft. These differing statements revealed the confusion within Congress about how to respond to another major electoral loss.
String of Defeats Across Multiple States
The Bihar defeat is part of a larger pattern of opposition failures across India. In Maharashtra, the BJP alliance won 230 out of 288 seats, with the BJP itself winning nearly 90 per cent of the seats it contested. In Haryana, the BJP created history by retaining power for the third consecutive time. In Delhi, the BJP returned to power after nearly three decades, winning 48 of the 70 seats, a five-fold increase in its seat count. The only bright spot for the opposition was Jharkhand, where the JMM-Congress alliance managed to win. The NDA victories cut across different regions, age groups, genders, and castes, showing that opposition messages failed to connect with various sections of voters.
Calls for Serious Rethinking of Opposition Strategy
Several opposition leaders acknowledged that their campaign strategies need major changes. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor called the performance seriously disappointing and urged the party to conduct serious introspection and analysis of what went wrong. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the results are a lesson for Congress and its allies, and they need to work out a new strategy. Some leaders admitted that issues like caste census and alleged vote theft did not resonate with voters. Others pointed out that simply criticizing Prime Minister Modi was not enough to win elections. An NCP leader said the one-sided mandate came as a surprise to everyone, while a Shiv Sena leader blamed Congress for demanding too many seats during alliances but failing to win most of them.
Source: Link