After Bihar Loss, Congress Faces New Challenges as Allies Step Back

The Congress party, once regarded as the country’s oldest and strongest national force, is now going through one of its toughest phases. After ruling India for several decades, the party’s influence has sharply weakened, and its position in national politics has become unstable. In the recent elections, Congress managed to win only in Telangana and Karnataka  and even those victories are largely credited to strong local leadership rather than the party’s central strength.

The latest setback came from the Bihar Assembly elections, where the Congress performed poorly and failed to retain even the seats it previously held. Looking ahead, two crucial state elections are scheduled in the next six months  Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. These states have never been Congress strongholds, as the DMK dominates Tamil Nadu and the Trinamool Congress maintains a strong grip over West Bengal.

Although both DMK and TMC are constituents of the INDIA alliance, they are clearly unwilling to partner with Congress at the state level. Many expected clarity on alliances after the Bihar results, but Congress’ defeat and the lack of visible impact from Rahul Gandhi have only pushed regional parties further away. Analysts believe that DMK and TMC are likely to sideline Congress completely in their respective states.

This situation could weaken Congress even more in the coming months. The party’s strength in the Rajya Sabha is also expected to reduce. With the BJP-led NDA gaining more assembly seats in Bihar, most Rajya Sabha seats from the state may go to the ruling alliance, further shrinking Congress’ influence in Parliament.

Smaller parties that previously supported Congress are reportedly reconsidering their stance after the Bihar outcome. Many of them are believed to be leaning towards the NDA, which could isolate Congress even further.

Political analysts predict that if this trend continues, the Congress may face a much steeper decline by the time the 2029 general elections arrive. How the party plans to recover from this slide  and what strategies it will adopt to retain relevance  remains a major question in Indian politics today.