Congress holds strategy meet ahead of Bihar polls, seat-sharing talks progressing.

Patna, September 9, 2025: With the Bihar Assembly election around the corner, the Congress on Tuesday held a high-level meeting in New Delhi under the leadership of party national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

The meeting focused on seat-sharing arrangements within the INDIA bloc and campaign planning.

Although a discussion on the seat-sharing formula was held, Congress leaders refrained from revealing the exact number of constituencies the party is seeking.

Bihar Congress in-charge claimed that seat-sharing negotiations with allies are positive:

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, said, “We have discussed the seats we want to contest. The seat-sharing negotiation is progressing in the right direction, and positive talks with the alliance partners are taking place. Once it is finalized, we will reveal the numbers.

When asked about a possible deadline for the announcement, Allavaru said, “Such issues do not have deadlines, but we are hoping that the final decision will be taken very soon.”

He also confirmed that senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, will actively participate in the party’s campaign in Bihar.

On the possibility of including new allies in the INDIA bloc, Allavaru noted that discussions were ongoing, adding that parties like Pashupati Kumar Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) and Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) were under consideration.

Congress MP from Kishanganj, Mohammad Jawaid, highlighted the issues that would feature in the party’s joint campaign.

“We have raised matters like unemployment, mass migration, floods and other issues of Bihar before the Congress top leadership. These will form part of the joint campaign. Other leaders have also presented their views,” he said.

Congress wants respectable seats:

On seat-sharing, Jawaid struck a cautious note.

“We want a respectable number of seats, but it is premature to say the exact figure. Our focus is on giving tickets to strong candidates so that our strength increases and we can form the government in Bihar,” he added.

Jawaid further claimed that Congress’s base in Bihar has strengthened, citing the enthusiastic response to the recently concluded Voter Adhikar Yatra.

The meeting was also attended by Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram, CLP leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, former PCC chief Madan Mohan Jha, senior leader Ajay Makan and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, among others.

Also Read: INDIA Alliance holds a strategy meeting in Delhi on Bihar polls 2025 and SIR.

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