Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 15: The Congress on Friday invoked its “vote chori” campaign to explain the BJP’s landslide in Bihar, even as conflicting messages from party leaders exposed deep disquiet and forced calls for urgent introspection.

AICC communications chief Jairam Ramesh did not mince words, calling the outcome “vote chori on a gigantic scale” and accusing the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Election Commission of masterminding the unfairness. “The Indian National Congress renews its resolve to continue with even greater strength its campaign to protect the Constitution and save our democracy,” he said.

Minutes later, party president Mallikarjun Kharge struck a different tone, saying the Congress “respects” the people’s mandate while pledging a “thorough study” of the results and vowing to continue the struggle to save constitutional democracy. Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, called the verdict “startling” and said his alliance could not have won in an election that “was not fair from the very beginning.”

The mixed messaging reflects wider confusion across the Opposition after another electoral setback, coming barely a year after it pulled the BJP down to 240 seats in the Lok Sabha. The BJP’s broad coalition-building, tailored Hindutva appeals and last-minute welfare tweaks have left the Opposition scrambling for a coherent counter-narrative.

Inside Congress ranks, leaders offered competing explanations for the debacle. Some blamed pre-poll cash transfers and welfare-driven shifts in voter behaviour, while others faulted the party’s over-reliance on the SIR and vote-theft line — a theme critics within the party argue lacked resonance at the booth. Questions were also raised about Rahul Gandhi’s messaging, organisational strategy, and the party’s ability to connect on bread-and-butter issues such as employment.

One senior Congress leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned that responsibility must be taken and that outsourcing strategy and ideology to a few “clueless individuals” will be ruinous. Another cautioned that the social justice pitch, including calls for a caste census, failed to mobilise voters the way the party had hoped, particularly since Bihar had already conducted a state-level enumeration.

The rout in Bihar follows clear Opposition struggles in other states this year. The BJP’s strong show in Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi has punctured several Opposition narratives and underscored organisational and messaging gaps across parties.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor described the party’s performance as “seriously disappointing” and called for “very serious introspection” — not merely reflection but detailed study of tactical, messaging and organisational errors.

As the Opposition returns to the drawing board, the central question remains stark and existential: how to craft a winning narrative that can cut through caste coalitions, incumbent welfare appeals and the BJP’s expanding political playbook.