Congress top brass brainstorms with Bihar leaders to firm up strategy for assembly polls

The Congress top brass on Tuesday took stock of preparations for the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar and brainstormed on the party's roadmap in the run-up to the election. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired the meeting that was attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar and his predecessor Akhilesh Prasad Singh, AICC's Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, senior leaders Meira Kumar, Tariq Anwar, Shakeel Ahmed Khan and Mohammad Jawed, among others.

Sources said a frank exchange of ideas took place as the state leaders apprised the leadership of the ground situation and pointed out the areas that need strengthening in the run-up to the polls.

The meeting comes days after Rajesh Kumar, a Dalit leader, was named new president of its state unit.


A second-term MLA from Kutumba in Aurangabad district, the 56-year-old replaced Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister Singh.

After meeting Rajesh Kumar, Kharge had said in a post in Hindi on X, "Bihar is craving for change. The youngsters of Bihar want employment, the people of Bihar are waiting with hope for real social justice."

The succession of Singh, an upper-caste leader known to be close to the Congress' senior Bihar ally the RJD, by Rajesh Kumar marks a strategic shift on part of the grand old party, which is trying to aggressively reach out to the deprived sections of society, making use of Gandhi's twin planks of "Samvidhan bachao (save the Constitution)" and the demand for a nationwide caste survey.

The change in the party's strategy was also felt in the appointment of Allavaru, a young leader who has handled campaign strategies in several states, as the new AICC Bihar in-charge.

The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, of which the Congress is a part, is looking to wrest power from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the assembly polls due later this year.