Congress continues to struggle in election alliances, and Bihar has exposed this pattern again. The party had earlier won 62 seats while contesting against the RJD. This time, despite getting more seats, Congress is leading in only six. Its strike rate has dropped below ten percent. A similar result appeared in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, when Congress contested 100 seats and won only seven. That defeat hurt the SP, and Akhilesh Yadav later changed his strategy.
Tejashwi Yadav, however, repeated Akhilesh’s old mistake. He allowed Congress to contest more seats. The results have weakened the Grand Alliance. Since 2014, every time Congress enters the race, the BJP gains an advantage. Congress also fails to match regional parties, which makes alliances risky for its partners.
Meanwhile, CPI-ML has shown a strong performance. The party contested only 20 seats but leads in seven. This contrast highlights Congress’ poor form.
On the other side, the NDA ran a sharp and united campaign. Amit Shah stayed in Patna for three days and held long strategy sessions. Narendra Modi led the campaign. Shah held 36 rallies and Rajnath Singh addressed 20.
Chief ministers like Yogi Adityanath also joined the effort. Leaders from the JDU and LJP campaigned together. The Grand Alliance lacked this unity and coordination, which hurt its prospects.
