The Grand Alliance in Bihar faces deepening internal conflict after the 2025 election defeat, as RJD and Congress openly trade blame. Public criticism, internal meetings, and strategic disagreements fuel speculation about a potential split in Bihar’s opposition bloc.
The aftermath of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections has triggered a major political tremor within the Grand Alliance, exposing widening cracks between its two key constituents — the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress. With the alliance suffering a resounding defeat at the hands of voters, both parties have begun openly blaming each other, pushing the coalition to the brink of collapse.
The tension escalated soon after a Congress review meeting in Delhi, where party strategists reportedly attributed the alliance’s poor performance to the RJD’s supposed miscalculations. According to Congress insiders, the party leadership believes that organisational weaknesses within the RJD, along with poor coordination, derailed the alliance’s prospects in a tightly contested election. The observations made during the meeting have now sparked a political storm in Bihar.
The situation worsened over the weekend when RJD state president Mangani Lal Mandal launched a sharp and public attack on the Congress. Speaking to reporters, Mandal questioned the Congress’s influence and political relevance within the alliance, asserting that the party’s electoral success in Bihar has always depended on the RJD’s support base.
“Congress won seats and secured votes only because of the RJD’s presence and backing,” Mandal said in a pointed remark. “If Congress wants to chart a different political course, let it do so — and it will then realise its actual strength.”
He also referred to the 2020 Assembly elections, recalling that the Congress had demanded 72 seats and contested 70, winning only 19. According to Mandal, even those victories were the result of RJD’s grassroots network and mobilisation, not the Congress’s independent influence.
Mandal’s comments reignited speculation that the Grand Alliance may be heading toward a formal breakup. Political observers note that such public criticism, coming from a senior party leader, reflects not just dissatisfaction but a deeper strategic conflict within the alliance.
The Congress, however, hit back strongly. Several senior leaders dismissed Mandal’s claims as baseless and provocative. “If the Congress is so weak, why does the RJD continue to keep us in the alliance?” a Congress leader asked. The leaders also argued that Mandal should have conveyed his dissatisfaction directly to Tejashwi Yadav, the chairman of the Grand Alliance coordination committee, instead of making public accusations that could damage the unity of the opposition bloc.
The Congress’s performance in the 2025 elections was significantly disappointing. The party contested 61 seats but managed to win only six, raising questions about its organisational capacity and campaign strategy. Making matters worse, Congress candidates faced “friendly fights” with alliance partners on more than ten seats — contests that further weakened the opposition’s chances by splitting votes.
As the blame game intensifies, the RJD has called for an urgent meeting of its MLAs at the residence of the Leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav. Party sources indicate that the meeting will discuss the future course of action and finalise the opposition’s strategy for the upcoming legislative session. The tone of the meeting is expected to be crucial for determining the RJD’s stance on the alliance’s stability.
Political analysts believe that the differences between the RJD and the Congress are no longer mere disagreements but have evolved into significant strategic divergences. While the RJD feels that its dominant support base deserves a larger and more decisive role in alliance decisions, the Congress maintains that it provides essential national-level support and ideological legitimacy that strengthens the broader opposition narrative.
With both sides refusing to back down, Bihar’s political circles are abuzz with speculation about the future of the Grand Alliance. A potential split could dramatically reshape the state’s political landscape, opening doors for new alliances, realignments, and power equations.
As things stand, the widening rift signals a moment of reckoning for the Grand Alliance. Whether the coalition survives or succumbs to internal contradictions will depend on how its leaders navigate the rising tensions in the days ahead. For now, the political temperature in Bihar remains high, and all eyes are on the next moves of the RJD and the Congress.
