Rahul Gandhi was picnicking while PM Modi focused on Bihar polls: RJD’s Shivanand Tiwary

In the primary open assault in opposition to the Congress for its poor present within the Bihar meeting polls, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) nationwide vp Shivanand Tiwary on Sunday took goal at Rahul Gandhi for vacationing in Shimla amid the electoral battle at the same time as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a dozen rallies.

Tiwary, an outspoken chief, additionally slammed the Congress as “a non-serious player”.

Rahul Gandhi addressed solely eight rallies all through the three-week lengthy ballot marketing campaign for the three-phase election, which ended on November 7.

The Congress gained solely 19 seats out of 70 seats it contested. It has led to heartburn within the RJD-led Grand Alliance (GA) that the coalition misplaced out to the ruling NDA by a slender margin to succeed in the bulk determine of 122 MLAs due to the grand outdated occasion’s low strike fee in profitable seats.

“Rahul Gandhi is much younger than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But Modi addressed more rallies than Gandhi. The Congress took as many as 70 seats in seat sharing but did not do 70 rallies. The party’s effort in the polls matching the number of seats it contested was totally lacking in Bihar this time. Gandhi was picnicking at his sister’s place in Shimla when elections were on. Is this the way a party is run? The Congress’s non-serious approach in running the party only gives room for making allegations that the national party is only helping the BJP,” he stated.

He additionally took potshots on the Congress chief for the occasion’s poor present in Uttar Pradesh meeting election in 2017 when Gandhi in alliance with Samajwadi Party( SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav had managed to win 54 seats out of 403 seats.

The senior chief maintained the Congress high management was not adapting to modifications or listening to even senior leaders for organisational overhaul highlighting how 23 senior occasion leaders together with Ghulam Nabi Azad, Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tiwari had written to the occasion president Sonia Gandhi for bringing in sweeping modifications. “But what happened? Nothing. There was no change in Congress’ way of functioning,” he stated.

Tiwary, who’s former Rajya Sabha MP and former minister, additionally was unsparing about his assault in opposition to Priyanka Gandhi saying her focus in Uttar Pradesh as AICC basic secretary has not lower a lot ice. “In the bye-election in four seats in UP recently, Congress candidates lost their deposits in four seats out of seven seats where polls were held. So how has Priyanka been able to shore up the party’s sagging poll fortunes in UP?” he requested.

Despite his scathing criticism, Tiwary asserted his utterances in opposition to the Congress shouldn’t be perceived as that of a RJD nationwide vp’s alone but in addition as that of a senior politician of the state who has spent 50 years in politics for social justice, democratic values and civil rights.

“We want the Congress to get stronger. Today, democracy is in danger especially the way civil liberties are being curbed and democratic voices are being suppressed in the country under the BJP rule. But I feel the Congress is not making any concerted effort in this direction. As a party, Congress must learn from the BJP of being accommodative towards allies like re-electing chief minister Nitish Kumar to the top post despite JD(U) winning only 43 seats and bringing on board smaller allies like VIP and HAM,” he stated.

He additionally stated that even Bihar Congress leaders are actually acknowledging there have been huge errors in candidate choice. “Congress leaders today staged dharna. A section of party leaders are now admitting it was wrong selection and faulty campaign that led to the party’s poor show,” Tiwary stated.

The RJD had been muted up to now in blaming the Congress for the GA’s failure to succeed in the midway mark with chief of the opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav saying all allies have labored collectively. But the CPI-ML (liberation), a significant Left occasion within the state which gained 12 seats as GA associate this time, has already put the Congress within the dock for the alliance’s debacle.

“Congress had a low strike rate and it appears the party did not choose its candidates and carried the poll campaign as desired. The Congress must review its shortcomings,” stated CPI ML basic secretary Dipankar Bhattarcharya just lately.

The indicators of inside wrangling within the GA are coming to the fore and the relations between RJD and Congress might now come beneath rising pressure.