The aftermath of the Bihar Assembly Elections in November 2025 has sent shockwaves through India’s political landscape, with both the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) grappling with internal turmoil, public recriminations, and the daunting task of understanding a resounding defeat. The election, which saw the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) sweep to victory, has triggered soul-searching, heated exchanges, and even expulsions among opposition parties, as revealed by a series of recent reports from The Times of India and Jagran.com.
For the NCP, the fallout has been particularly dramatic. Rajkumar Yadav, the Odisha state president and the party’s central observer for the Bihar polls, found himself expelled from the party for six years. The reason? An altercation over a photograph—specifically, Yadav’s objection to the display of senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal’s photo in the party office in Patna. According to Brijmohan Shrivastav, NCP’s national general secretary, "When Yadav visited the party office, he objected to the photo of Bhujbal and told the office-bearers to remove it. Mahato, present in the office, objected to Yadav. Mahato told Yadav that he was Bhujbal's admirer and would not allow his photo to be removed. It led to an altercation between Yadav and Mahato." (The Times of India).
This seemingly minor dispute spiraled rapidly. Dharamveer Mahato, the candidate involved, submitted his resignation in protest. Although party seniors did not accept Mahato’s resignation, they swiftly formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident. The inquiry concluded that Yadav was guilty of indiscipline and of insulting a senior party member. He was advised to apologize but refused, prompting the NCP leadership to expel him for six years. The episode exposed deep fissures within the party and came on the heels of a disastrous electoral performance—Ajit Pawar’s NCP had fielded 16 candidates in Bihar, and every single one lost.
While the NCP’s troubles played out in Patna, Congress leaders convened in Delhi for a marathon review meeting to dissect what many described as one of the party’s worst electoral debacles in Bihar. The gathering, held at Indira Bhawan, was attended by a who’s who of Congress leadership: Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, organisation in-charge KC Venugopal, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram, AICC Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, MPs Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Tariq Anwar, and Independent MP Pappu Yadav, among others (Jagran.com).
The atmosphere was tense even before the meeting began. According to Jagran Patna office inputs, a ruckus erupted among party leaders, with Sanjeev Singh and Jitendra Yadav engaging in a heated exchange that reportedly escalated to talk of gunfire. Senior leaders intervened just in time to separate the two. Pappu Yadav later downplayed the incident, but the episode underscored the high stakes and frayed nerves within the party following its defeat.
Once inside, the Congress brass listened as candidates and leaders laid out a litany of reasons for the loss. According to a PTI report, several pointed fingers at the NDA government’s transfer of Rs 10,000 to women beneficiaries—a move they claimed violated the model code of conduct and swayed voters. Delays in seat-sharing negotiations among Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) partners, persistent internal strife, and allegations of ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) were also cited as key factors. The party’s review process was methodical, with Congress’s top three leaders meeting candidates in groups of ten to hear their grievances and insights.
KC Venugopal, speaking to the press after the four-hour review, declared, "The four-hour review meeting made one thing absolutely clear that the election was not a genuine mandate; it was a grossly managed and fabricated outcome." His remarks reflected the party’s deep skepticism about the legitimacy of the results and its frustration with the electoral process.
Abidur Rahman, Congress MLA from Araria, provided a candid assessment: "There were several reasons for the defeat. The first reason is that 10,000 rupees were given in violation of the model code of conduct. The alliance could not be formed at the right time. There was a friendly contest in 10-11 seats, which sent the wrong message to the public." Rahman also highlighted how the Rs 10,000 transfer influenced voting patterns, noting, "The situation was such that if a man voted for the Congress, his wife voted for the NDA." He further pointed to discord between old and young leaders, delays in alliance formation, and the impact of religious and caste-based mobilization as significant contributors to the party’s poor showing.
The Congress review also acknowledged the strong performance of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the Seemanchal belt—a region where the party had hoped to perform well. The rise of AIMIM in this area not only split the opposition vote but also signaled shifting political allegiances and the growing importance of regional and identity-based politics in Bihar.
For both the NCP and Congress, the Bihar election has become a case study in the perils of disunity, delayed decision-making, and the challenges of countering a well-organized opponent. The NCP’s internal discord—culminating in the public expulsion of a senior leader over a symbolic dispute—mirrors the broader malaise afflicting the opposition. Meanwhile, Congress’s internal review laid bare the many practical and strategic errors that contributed to its defeat, from alliance mismanagement to the failure to counter the NDA’s welfare outreach.
But the story is not just one of failure. It is also a reflection of the complex, often messy nature of Indian politics, where personalities, symbols, and last-minute welfare schemes can tip the balance, and where party discipline and unity are as crucial as policy and ideology. The heated exchanges, committee inquiries, and marathon meetings may seem chaotic, but they also represent the churn of a democracy in which defeat is seldom final and every setback is, at least in theory, an opportunity for renewal.
As the dust settles on the Bihar elections, both the NCP and Congress face a long road ahead. For the NCP, rebuilding trust and restoring discipline will be essential if it hopes to regain relevance. For Congress, the challenge is even greater: to bridge generational divides, forge timely alliances, and reconnect with voters who, for now, have turned elsewhere. Whether either party can rise to the occasion remains to be seen, but for now, the lessons of Bihar loom large over India’s opposition landscape.
