The Congress has once again faced a humiliating electoral setback this time in one of India’s most politically significant states, Bihar. As the NDA swept towards a landslide victory, the Congress’ principal face, Rahul Gandhi, was conspicuously missing from the political battlefield, triggering a wave of public criticism and social media speculation.
Rumours circulated that Gandhi was spotted at London’s Heathrow Airport with his niece, Miraya Vadra. However, Congress leaders Supriya Shrinate and Ragini Nayak clarified that the viral clip was from September, dismissing claims of a last-minute foreign trip. Yet, with no official word from the party on his whereabouts, the question persists: Where is the Leader of the Opposition while his party faces its worst moment?
Fact-checking platform NewsMeter has confirmed that no credible evidence supports claims of Gandhi flying to London or Muscat. Still, the mystery deepened as memes and questions flooded social media, even prompting BJP spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill to taunt that “by the time Rahul Gandhi wakes up in a different time zone abroad, the NDA would have lifted the trophy here.”
Despite criticism, Rahul Gandhi did campaign extensively in Bihar. His Vote Adhikar Yatra covered 23 districts over 1,300 kilometres in 16 days, focusing on voter rights. But his messaging centred on alleged vote theft and SIR data diverged sharply from ally Tejashwi Yadav’s focus on jobs and employment. Analysts say this mismatch weakened the Mahagathbandhan’s narrative at a time when Bihar’s average monthly income remains one of the lowest in India.
As the campaign intensified, Modi, Amit Shah and Nitish Kumar held back-to-back rallies. Rahul Gandhi, however, exited the stage after September 1, following his yatra, embarking on a five-nation tour of South America. His much-hyped press conference on “vote theft” dubbed the "Hydrogen Bomb" fizzled out without impact, reinforcing critics’ views that top Congress leaders are “seasonal birds”.
The results underline a stark reality: Left parties such as CPI(ML) Liberation and CPI(M), along with AIMIM, outperformed the Congress in several segments. Additionally, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj contesting all 243 seats for the first time appears to have eaten into the Mahagathbandhan’s vote share, reflected in the 13% votes polled under the “others” category.
Rahul Gandhi remains a national figure, but Bihar has once again highlighted his organisational disconnect and political inconsistencies. His silence after the alliance’s crushing loss only reinforces concerns about Congress’ leadership crisis at a time when its political footprint continues to shrink.
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