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New Delhi: A Bihar Congress meeting convened on 3 July to review the party’s organisational expansion and strengthen its booth-level structure reportedly descended into a bitter confrontation after senior leaders exchanged allegations that money had been sought and paid for distribution of Assembly tickets during the 2025 Assembly elections, exposing fresh factional fault lines within the state unit.
The meeting, held at Sadaqat Ashram in Patna, was attended by Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Rajesh Kumar, AICC Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, former Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha and former Congress Legislature Party president Shakeel Ahmed Khan, district Congress presidents and other senior leaders. It had been convened as part of the party’s ongoing organisational strengthening exercise ahead of the next phase of its political mobilisation in the state.
According to sources familiar with the developments, the discussions took an acrimonious turn after allegations were raised over the manner in which Assembly tickets had been distributed during the 2025 elections.
Two senior leaders allegedly accused others of seeking and accepting money in return for party nominations, triggering heated exchanges, prolonged shouting and counter-allegations during the meeting.
The reported developments come at a time when the Congress leadership is understood to be considering large-scale organisational changes at the national level following a series of electoral setbacks. In Bihar, the party is also attempting to rebuild its organisation after its poor performance in the 2025 Assembly elections. Contesting 61 seats as part of the Mahagathbandhan, the Congress managed to win only six, prompting introspection over its electoral strategy, organisational functioning and the process of candidate selection.
The reported episode also surfaced around the period when Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s proposed visit to Patna for a students’ conference was being planned. The programme was initially scheduled for 11 July and later rescheduled to 15 July before eventually being postponed.
When contacted, Bihar Congress Disciplinary Committee chairman Kapil Deo Prasad Yadav said he was not present at the 3 July meeting and had no first-hand knowledge of what transpired.
“I was not present in that meeting. Whatever has been reported, I have only read in the media. No party leader has submitted any complaint to me regarding the alleged incident. Unless and until I receive a written complaint from a party member, I cannot initiate any disciplinary action,” Yadav told Read.
He said allegations of this nature surface periodically within political parties and maintained that the disciplinary committee has acted whenever complaints have been substantiated.
“Such allegations (of money being paid for ticket) keep coming up. We have taken action in the past, including removing people from the party wherever required. Irrespective of the seniority of the leader, no one is above the party discipline and we will be taking action against any leader who doesn’t follow the party. You must understand that discussions and analysis regarding the party’s performance happen when party leaders meet at a common platform. However, by the time these discussions reach the media, they often take another shape. Rather than reporting hearsay, the media should speak to those concerned and report what has actually happened,” he said.
The latest controversy is not an isolated one. The Bihar Congress has repeatedly witnessed factional disputes and public disagreements over candidate selection and organisational functioning, particularly during election cycles. Internal differences over ticket distribution have surfaced on multiple occasions in the past, leading to disciplinary proceedings against party functionaries.
While Congress leaders have maintained that the postponement of Rahul Gandhi’s proposed Patna visit has no connection with the reported developments within the Bihar unit, sources within the party who are not happy with state leadership have sought to draw a link between the two. They claimed the postponement reflected the Congress leadership’s displeasure over continuing factionalism in the state unit and argued that Gandhi wanted the Bihar leadership to first put its house in order before holding organisational consultations.
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