Congress Targets EC Over Bihar Results
The leaders met to discuss the Congress' poor performance in Bihar, where the party won only six of the 61 seats it contested
By : Bhaskar Hari Sharma
Update: 2025-11-15 07:24 GMT
New Delhi: Reeling from its second-worst performance in Bihar, the Congress on Saturday held a closed-door review meeting even as the Mahagathbandhan intensified its attack on the Election Commission, alleging a lack of transparency in the poll process, charges the poll body strongly rebutted, saying the Opposition was blaming the Commission for its defeat.
The meeting, chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal, treasurer Ajay Maken and Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, focused on the party’s poor performance, winning just six of the 61 seats it contested. This marks the Congress’s second-worst result in the state after 2010, when it won only four seats.
After the meeting, Venugopal reiterated the party’s allegation that the electoral process lacked transparency and accused the Election Commission of bias.
“The result from Bihar is unbelievable for all of us. A 90 per cent strike rate is unprecedented in Indian history. We are collecting data and within one or two weeks, we will present concrete proof. The entire process is completely questionable. The Election Commission is totally one-sided,” he said.
Venugopal added that the party had raised concerns about the EC’s conduct during the campaign and claimed similar issues were seen in the Haryana elections.
Asked about Rahul Gandhi’s remarks calling the election “not fair”, Venugopal said, “We have been talking about the EC’s role. During the Haryana election, we said the election was rigged.”
“We came out with evidence there, and we want the Election Commission to question our evidence here as well. We will collect all data from across Bihar and present the facts,” he said.
While Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi did not speak to the media after the review, Mahagathbandhan leaders expressed disbelief at the NDA’s sweeping victory, calling it an “unprecedented strike rate”.
Congress’s ally CPI-ML (Liberation) questioned discrepancies in voter count. Its general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya asked why the number of voters had increased from 7.42 crore to 7.45 crore between the poll announcement and the EC’s post-poll note.
“Where did this extra three lakh come from?” he asked.
Responding to the criticism, Election Commission officials clarified that around three lakh voters were added to the rolls after the publication of the final list on September 30, following a Special Intensive Revision.
They said the October 6 poll schedule reflected the roll as on that date, 7.42 crore voters. Under election rules, eligible citizens may apply for inclusion in the electoral roll up to 10 days before the last date of nominations for each phase.
“After examining all valid applications received during that window, names of eligible voters were added as per the rules so that no citizen is deprived of voting,” an EC official said.
Before the review meeting, the Congress had accused the ruling BJP, the Home Ministry and the Election Commission of “vote chori on a gigantic scale,” alleging that the electoral process in Bihar was “manipulated.”