Patna: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met in Patna on Wednesday, passing a series of resolutions on politics, diplomacy and social issues while setting the tone for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The meeting, held at Sadakat Ashram, was attended by Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders, but the party avoided naming a chief ministerial face for the polls.
The four-and-a-half-hour meeting was opened with a flag-hoisting ceremony by Rahul Gandhi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Modi government of “vote theft,” saying tampering with voter lists amounted to stealing rations, pensions and scholarships from Dalits, tribals, backward classes and the poor. “India is going through challenging times,” he said, warning that democracy itself was being undermined.
While Congress leaders spoke of the party’s intent to revive itself in Bihar — recalling how a government was formed in Telangana within two months of the CWC meeting there — they remained silent on whether Tejashwi Prasad Yadav would be projected as the Grand Alliance’s CM candidate. Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru insisted the priority was to “stop vote theft,” a stance that has reportedly caused unease in the RJD.
आज लोकतंत्र की जन्मस्थली बिहार के ऐतिहासिक सदाक़त आश्रम में विस्तारित कांग्रेस कार्यसमिति की बैठक में मेरे शुरूआती वक्तव्य के कुछ अंश –
1. पटना में हो रही CWC की यह बैठक बेहद महत्वपूर्ण है। हम ऐसे समय में मिल रहे हैं, जबकि, अन्तराष्ट्रीय और राष्ट्रीय, दोनो स्तरों पर भारत एक… pic.twitter.com/sZaRG9uiSG
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 24, 2025
Chief ministers of Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh joined senior leaders such as Ashok Gehlot, Digvijay Singh, Sachin Pilot and Bhupesh Baghel at the historic session, the first CWC meeting in Patna since independence.
Sachin Pilot echoed Kharge’s criticism of the Election Commission, alleging bias towards the BJP, while also attacking the government’s handling of GST. “For eight years the public was looted. Now they are correcting what we demanded from the start,” he said.
The absence of Sonia Gandhi, attributed to ill health, and Priyanka Gandhi, for reasons left unexplained, added intrigue to the gathering.
