Amid talk of spilt, Bihar Congress legislators to meet Rahul Gandhi tomorrow

Congress legislators of Bihar will be meeting Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in Delhi. All the Congress legislators have been summoned to Delhi as a meeting has been scheduled on Wednesday, writes ETV Bharat Bihar Bureau Chief Amit Bhelari.

Patna: Congress legislators of Bihar will be meeting Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in Delhi after speculations of a split emerged in Bihar Congress. All the Congress legislators have been summoned to Delhi and a meeting has been scheduled on Wednesday. Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) President, Madan Mohan Jha along with 35 other prominent leaders left for Delhi today to take part in the meeting.

The meeting assumed significance amid the talk of reshuffle and split in the Bihar Congress. Earlier All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Bihar, Bhakta Charan Das has indicated recently that a new president of BPCC would be appointed. Before leaving for New Delhi, BPCC President Madan Mohan Jha ruled out the possibility of any split in the party as several leaders of the ruling party had been claiming that after LJP there would be a coup in Bihar Congress as well.

"There is no such talk of any split in the Bihar Congress. It has been a tradition in the party that whosoever becomes an MLA or MLC, our leader calls them to Delhi to meet them. However, due to the Covid restrictions, no new MLAs and MLCs have met Rahul. It's not only legislators, even all the senior leaders of the Congress party will be meeting him. There is no question of any split in the party and Bihar Congress is intact under the leadership of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi," Jha said before boarding the Delhi flight at Patna airport.

Even Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Ajit Sharma denied the claims of crack or split in the Bihar Congress saying that a rumour has been spread about the party by rivals. However, It is fact that in 2018 four Congress MLCs had left the party and had joined JDU. A few days back, JDU President RCP Singh had claimed that there would be a big split in the Bihar Congress as the party is sinking and no leaders would like to get drowned.

Sources in the Congress party said that Rahul Gandhi had called the meeting to discuss all these issues including the possible names for the new president of BPCC. Bhakta Charan Das has earlier recommended several names for the post but he had stressed upon one name Rajesh Ram, a Dalit leader for the post, however, no decision has been taken yet.

Ram who presently represents the Kutumba assembly constituency in the Aurangabad district is also the chairman of BPCC's SC/ST cell. It is not for the first time Congress is mulling over to give the Bihar charge to a Dalit leader.

Before Madan Mohan Jha who is from the upper caste, Ashok Choudry, a Dalit leader was the BPCC president. However, Choudary shifted his loyalty to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who not only made him MLC but also a minister now. Choudhary has left Congress and joined JDU in 2017 itself. Jha on other hand had taken the moral responsibility for Congress' poor performance in the 2020 Bihar assembly poll as they only managed to win 19 seats out of 70 given to them.

Jha had even put down his papers but Congress High Command has not accepted his resignation so far. However, Das has recently visited Patna and hinted that the state president will be changed. The meeting with Rahul Gandhi may discuss this issue and a new president of BPCC may be chosen.

The caste equation has always been an important and driving force in Bihar politics. The upper castes play a dominant role in the state mainly Brahmins, Rajputs and Bhumihars apart from the smaller sub-groups in the upper caste which constitute around 15 per cent of the total vote share.

The upper castes ruled the state as part of the congress from Independence till the 90s except for a few intervals between 1967 to 1972. However, off-late, several changes were made in Bihar Congress and the party started giving the opportunity not only to the upper caste but also to Dalit and Muslims. That was the reason that even Kaukab Quadri was made the working President of the BPCC and even Mehboob Ali Kaisar was holding the post of President.Congress once again would be trying their luck on a Dalit leader in the form of Rajesh Ram.