Bihar polls: Congress rushes Ashok Gehlot to Patna to resolve issues in grand alliance

In an attempt to settle the differences in Mahagatbandhan (grand alliance) in Bihar, which has failed to arrive at an acceptable seat-sharing arrangement for the Assembly elections, former Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot met RJD president Lalu Prasad in Patna on Wednesday (October 22, 2025). 

The Congress rushed Mr. Gehlot to Bihar, with the RJD and the Congress facing each other in five seats, with neither side wanting to be the first to blink. A lack of public announcement endorsing Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly and senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial face has worsened the situation. 

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Mr. Gehlot, on landing in Patna, spoke to reporters claiming that “a friendly fight in five or 10 seats was no big deal”. After visiting the Yadav family, he hoped things would be ironed out by the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers tomorrow. However, five of these seats fell in the first phase, for which the deadline for withdrawal ended on Monday (October 21).

The grand alliance leaders are likely to hold a press conference on Thursday (October 23) to present a united front and to stem the narrative on disarray within the alliance. 

“It is extremely important for us to win the polls. More so after the alliance of which the Congress was a part lost Maharashtra. The Bihar polls will set the tone for national politics. It is essential that the NDA, which has caused divisions in society and messed up the economy, gets a setback. The people of Bihar are wise enough to realise this,” Mr. Gehlot said. He further alleged that “the turmoil in the NDA is, in fact, greater than it is in our camp. But the media does not highlight that because of bias in favour of the ruling coalition”.

He also invoked the recently concluded “Voter Adihikar rally” where Mr. Tejashwi Yadav drove around the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.  “You have seen the chemistry between Rahul and Tejashwi during the Voter Adhikar Yatra two months ago when the two leaders travelled across the State. They will take an appropriate decision at an appropriate time”.