Congress downplays RJD’s remark, says focus on revival ahead of 2024 battle

The Congress on Monday played down the response of ally RJD, which was miffed over Rahul Gandhi’s “Congress alone can beat BJP” line. Writes ETV Bharat's Agnihotri.

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday played down the response of ally Rashtriya Janata Dal, which was miffed over Rahul Gandhi’s “Congress alone can beat BJP” line. “We are a national party. We are trying to revive ourselves across the country. We have to focus on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and prepare for it,” AICC secretary in charge of Bihar Ajay Kapoor told ETV Bharat. “Rahulji is correct. The regional parties cannot take on the BJP,” he said.

Kapoor was responding to some remarks made by RJD MP Manoj Jha where he said that the regional parties were a stronger player when it came to the Lok Sabha elections and the Congress should work like a co-traveler.

Rahul had made his remarks on Sunday on the concluding day of the Chintan Shivir saying that Congress is the only national party that can defeat the BJP ideologically and the regional parties were only based on caste and were not equipped for the challenge that the saffron party presents before the opposition. Kapoor said Congress hopes to have meaningful alliances in 2024 national polls as well as state elections.

“The Lok Sabha poll is a bigger challenge. The state elections will be tackled later. Right now, we are focussed on the national polls,” Kapoor said, adding, “that the issue of reviving the grand old party was not connected to the alliances that it may have.” RJD, based in Bihar, has been an ally of the Congress since 2004 both in the state and national polls. It was also part of the previous UPA government at the Centre.

In 2019, the two parties contested the national elections jointly but the RJD scored nil while the Congress could get just 1 seat in Kishanganj out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, while the BJP-JD-U alliance got 39 seats.

Since then. Congress has been trying to regain its lost ground in the eastern state and is in the process of revamping the state unit. The Congress had also planned a yatra in the name of Mahatma Gandhi starting from Champaran to regroup in the state. However, the event was canceled at the eleventh hour and former state unit chief MM Jha was asked to resign.

“Now that the Chintan Shivir is over, a new team will be finalized soon,” Kapoor said, adding, “the Congress will restrengthen itself in the state.” Party insiders said that was easier said than done, given the organizational issues have not been addressed in Bihar for years.