We couldn't win an election that was not fair from beginning: Rahul Gandhi

The Congress posted its second-weakest performance in the Bihar Assembly elections after 2010

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the results of the state Assembly elections in Bihar were surprising and that the party would continue its efforts to “save democracy”, even as he thanked voters who had put their trust in the Mahagathbandhan alliance.

  The Gandhi scion also said the party could not win an election “that was not fair from the very beginning” after the Congress posted its worst performance in Bihar's Assembly elections since 2010 — it has won six seats in the 2025 elections, a mere two more than in 2010.

 

What did Rahul Gandhi say in his post on X? 

In a post on X, Gandhi said: “I express my heartfelt gratitude to those millions of voters in Bihar who expressed their trust in the Mahagathbandhan. This result in Bihar is truly surprising. We could not achieve victory in an election that was not fair from the very beginning. This fight is for the protection of the Constitution and democracy. The Congress Party and the INDIA alliance will deeply review this result and make their efforts to save democracy even more effective.” 

Echoing Gandhi's voice, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the party will keep fighhting against the forces that are engaged in weakening democracy by misusing constitutional institutions.

 

Kharge posted on X: "We respect the decision of the people of Bihar and will continue our fight against those forces that are engaged in weakening democracy by misusing constitutional institutions.We will conduct a thorough study of the election results and will present a detailed perspective after understanding the reasons for the outcomes."

 

"We are deeply grateful from the bottom of our hearts to those voters in Bihar who supported the grand alliance. I want to tell every Congress worker that there is no need for you to feel discouraged. You are our pride, honor, and glory. Your hard work is our strength," the Congress chief said.

 

"We will leave no stone unturned in raising awareness among the people. We will continue the struggle to save the Constitution and democracy by staying among the people. This fight is long - and we will fight it with complete dedication, courage, and truth," he further added.

 

How did PM Modi respond to the Bihar poll process?

  Meanwhile, during his speech at the BJP headquarters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Election Commission for conducting the Bihar Assembly polls peacefully. He said the results showed that the youth of the country supports the “purification” of electoral rolls.

 

In his address, the PM also predicted a falling-out between the INDIA bloc allies: the Tejashwi Yadav-fronted Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.

 

How did the INDIA bloc perform in comparison to previous polls? 

At the time of publication, the RJD had won 24 seats of the 143 it contested and was leading by a narrow 4,000-odd margin in one, while the Congress —

 

In the 2020 Assembly polls — when only around 13,000 votes overall separated the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan — the RJD had emerged as the single-largest party. Several of the Congress’ allies had then blamed the alliance’s defeat on the Congress, which won only 19 of the 70 seats it contested.