Sukhu’s high-pitched campaign fails to shift voter mood
Munish Sood
MANDI: The Congress faced a major electoral setback in Bihar as its candidate from Patna Sahib lost by nearly 39,000 votes in a constituency where Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had mounted an energetic campaign.
Sukhu, who was brought in as a star campaigner, addressed rallies, joined Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ and held a high-profile press conference in Patna, but the party’s efforts on the ground failed to translate into votes.
Sukhu’s visit to Bihar was positioned as a significant push by the Congress to strengthen its prospects in two key seats — Motihari and Patna Sahib. In Motihari, he shared the stage with Rahul Gandhi, telling supporters that the state had “risen against vote theft and injustice”. He claimed that the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ had boosted the fight to protect democratic values and posted on X that “vote theft is not just a crime but a direct attack on democracy”.
Promised implementation of Old Pension Scheme in Bihar
He followed this with a media interaction in Patna, where he promised a new political direction under the grand alliance. He highlighted proposed schemes on youth employment, education and agricultural reform, and even spoke about implementing the Old Pension Scheme in Bihar if the alliance came to power.
He also invoked Bihar’s ancient academic heritage and said the state was ready for “a new era of change”. However, once the votes were counted, the results told a starkly different story. In Motihari (Dhaka), BJP’s Pramod Kumar retained his seat comfortably, securing over 1 lakh votes and defeating RJD candidate Dewa Gupta, whom the Congress was supporting, by more than 13,000 votes.
In Patna Sahib, often seen as a BJP stronghold, Ratnesh Kumar of the BJP polled 1,30,366 votes while Congress’ Shashant Shekhar secured 91,466, falling short by 38,900 votes.
Political analysts noted that despite Sukhu’s high-voltage outreach, the Congress failed to dent the BJP’s entrenched voter base in either constituency.
BJP attacks Sukhu for campaigning outside Himachal
The BJP used the results to launch sharp attacks on the Himachal CM. BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya took to X to say that Himachal was grappling with floods and cloudbursts, yet Sukhu was busy in Bihar’s election rallies. He alleged that Sukhu had “chosen political theatrics” over standing with the people of his own state.
The criticism picked up momentum, with party leaders amplifying the claim that Sukhu’s campaign focus outside Himachal was poorly timed. According to observers, the controversy may have diluted the Congress’ messaging during the Bihar campaign.
Back in Himachal, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur also targeted Sukhu. Addressing party workers in Shimla after the NDA’s win, Jai Ram said Bihar’s voters had “rejected the claims made by Rahul Gandhi and Sukhu”. He argued that the Congress’ guarantees were being dismissed by voters across states and asserted that the Bihar verdict reaffirmed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Congress left assessing a costly miscalculation
With losses in both constituencies where Sukhu campaigned, Congress leaders are now examining why their star campaigners did not resonate with voters. Analysts pointed out that while Sukhu attempted to position Congress as the party of welfare and rights-based politics, the established BJP dominance, especially in seats like Patna Sahib, proved difficult to overcome.
The outcome has raised questions within political circles about the effectiveness of importing outside leaders into high-stakes state contests. For now, the political takeaway is clear: despite high-energy speeches and public outreach, the Congress gained little from Sukhu’s Bihar mission, ending up on the back foot in constituencies it hoped to revive, said an analyst.
