October 27, 2025 : As voting dates for the Bihar elections draw near, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s absence has become a major subject of discussion across the state.
Rahul, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha (LoP), last visited Bihar on 1 September, when he addressed the concluding rally of his ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Patna.
The Congress is contesting the Bihar elections as part of Mahagathbandhan of the INDIA bloc. Though there has been no official seat-sharing arrangement, the RJD is contesting 143 of the 243 seats of Bihar. The Congress is contesting 61 seats.
The ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, many Bihar Congress leaders acknowledged, had built momentum for the Mahagathbandhan with large-scale participation from the people, well ahead of the elections. But now, while the election is just ten days away, the former Congress president is conspicuous by his absence, a Congress worker told LiveMint at Sadaqat Ashram – the party’s main office in Patna.
When is voting in Bihar?
Voting for the Bihar Assembly elections will take place in two phases, on November 6 and 11 November. The votes will be counted on 14 November.
Phase 1 will cover key districts in southern and central Bihar, where Congress aims to consolidate support alongside its INDIA bloc partners.
The ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, attended by top INDIA bloc leaders including Tejashwi and Akhilesh Yadav, was taken out accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters in Bihar through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and the ‘vote chori’ of vote theft allegations in Karnataka.
After commencing on 17 August 2025 in Sasaram, the Yatra covered approximately 20 districts before culminating in a rally at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan on 1 September.
“We are coming among the people with the ‘Voter Rights Yatra’. This is a fight to protect the most symbolic democratic right – ‘one person, one vote’. Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution,” Gandhi said after the rally ended.
It is another matter that SIR or ‘Vote Chori’ issues don’t seem to be resonating in Bihar as of now.
Two months since Rahul’s last Bihar visit
Two months after his last visit, Rahul Gandhi has not campaigned in Bihar.
The Mahagathbandhan is challenging the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (United).
From the NDA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have already hit the campaign ground. Even the opposition alliance’s chief ministerial candidate, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, has held multiple public rallies across the state. Prashant Kishor of the Jan Suraaj party is also campaigning aggressively in Bihar.
Rahul Gandhi’s absence has become a significant issue amid a crisis within the party’s ranks, with many leaders alleging discrepancies in ticket distribution. Last week, at Sadakant Ashram, the Bihar office of the Congress party, a group of disgruntled Congress leaders, including former MLAs, staged a protest for being denied tickets.
‘Ticket chor, Bihar chhod’: Open Rebellion
Disgruntled Congress leaders in Bihar demanded immediate replacement of the party’s Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru with a ‘political’ person. They have publicly accused Allavaru of being a “corporate agent” and “sleeper cell of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.
During the protest on Thursday, these leaders wore black ribbons on their arms and carried placards with the slogan ‘Ticket chor, Bihar chhod’ (ticket thief, flee from Bihar). The slogan rhymes with Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chor Gadhi Chor’ slogan, which has also become a rap song now.
“We want our voice to reach Rahul Gandhi. There is no forum in the party for the redressal of grievances. So, we are talking to the you,” senior leader Anand Madhab told reporters on 23 October.
“Krishna Allavaru has messed up the party’s prospects in Bihar assembly polls, laying to waste the momentum that had been built through Rahul Gandhi’s fortnight-long Voter Adhikar Yatra. We are demanding his immediate removal so that some damage control could be attempted,” he said.
“Allavaru is not a political person. We suspect he is a corporate agenda… may be even a sleeper cell of the RSS who has been planted by forces from outside the party,” he alleged.
‘Campaign not visible on ground’
The Congress campaign is also not visible on the ground. People and Congress workers this reporter spoke with in Bihar asked the same question.
“People ask is where is Rahul Gandhi? How will we convince voters? Without the Gandhi family face, how do we convince voters?” a Congress worker in Kishanganj assembly seat asked.
Kishanganj was among 19 seats that Congress won in the 2020 polls. Izharul Hussain of the Congress party had won the seat defeating AIMIM’s Qamrul Hoda in the 2020 assembly polls. Hoda is now a Congress candidate in the second phase of polling, scheduled for 11 November.
“Nitish Kumar, who is perhaps not keeping well has been addressing dozens of meetings and our leader is making imartis,” a Congress worker said. On 20 October, Rahul Gandhi joined Diwali celebrations in Old Delhi by making “imarti” – a popular sweet – at Ghantewala sweet shop.
Is Rahul even coming to Bihar?
Congress had won three Lok Sabha seats from Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Two of these – Kishanganj and Katihar – are in the Seemanchal belt along the West Bengal border. Seemanchal votes in the second phase on 11 November.
Senior party leader KC Venugopal said on Sunday that the Congress’s poll campaign in Bihar will kick off soon after Chhath Puja, with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi canvassing for the INDIA bloc.
Venugopal, the Congress national general secretary (organisation), said that other party leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and national president Mallikarjun Kharge, will also campaign in the state, where the Voter Adhikar Yatra in August gave the party the much-needed momentum.
“Our campaign will kick off soon after Chhath Puja. I think Rahul Gandhi will be here on October 29 and 30. Tours of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Mallikarjun Kharge are also on the cards,” he told PTI video.
However, Congress sources in Bihar told LiveMint that Rahul Gandhi might address the first rally on 2 November, two days before campaigning ends for the first phase of voting, which is scheduled for 6 November.
Rahul Gandhi is likely to address a rally in Khagaria, a Congress leader told LiveMint.
Khagaria votes on 6 November. Chattarpati Yadav of the Congress party won the Khagaria assembly seat in Khagaria district of Munger division in the 2020 polls.
A thought-out strategy?
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also scheduled to address a rally in Bihar on 1 November, according to Congress sources.
We want our voice to reach Rahul Gandhi. There is no forum in the party for the redressal of grievances.
Some Congress party leaders said Rahul Gandhi has kind of stayed away from the hardcore campaigning as part of a strategically calibrated approach to help the INDIA bloc.
“When Rahul Gandhi becomes face, the election usually becomes a Modi vs Rahul affair– a polarised contest where the PM is a obviously a bigger leader. Keeping that in mind, Rahulji has perhaps decided not to be in limelight,” a Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh stationed in the Seemanchal belt told LiveMint.
During an interview with LiveMint last week, the opposition’s chief ministerial candidate said that Rahul, Priyanka, and Kharge will soon hit the campaign trail.
Summary :
As the Bihar elections draw closer, questions about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s absence from the campaign trail are growing louder. His low profile has fueled speculation about the party’s strategy and internal challenges.