Weeks after the Opposition Mahagathbandhan suffered a crushing defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections, senior state Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan targeted the party’s ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), saying that their alliance has “damaged” the Congress in the polls and that the grand old party should chart its independent course.In the November elections, Khan, who was the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the previous Bihar Assembly, lost his own Kadwa seat in Katihar district in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region.Speaking to The Indian Express Tuesday, he said that in the meeting held by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leadership in Delhi late last month to review the Bihar poll results, state party candidates expressed their concerns that continuing the alliance with the RJD has been “detrimental” to the party’s prospects in Bihar, urging the leadership to “reassess” it.“In the review meeting, all Congress candidates unanimously conveyed to the party central leadership that the alliance with RJD has harmed the party in the elections,” Khan claimed.He said the Congress’s tie-up with the RJD has been “holding back” the party from regaining its strength as an independent political force in Bihar and that the Assembly poll outcome was a “reminder of the RJD’s diminishing influence in the state”.The elections were swept by the incumbent NDA, which bagged 202 seats of 243 as against the Mahagathbandhan’s 35. The Congress could win just six seats out of 61 it contested. The RJD’s tally plunged to 25 seats from 75 in 2020, after contesting 143 seats.“Even RJD keeps claiming that their prospects are damaged due to Congress. But we have noticed that Congress’s traditional vote bank is slowly slipping away due to alliance with RJD,” Khan said.Story continues below this adHe claimed that state Congress workers have flagged that “the alliance with RJD has not only failed to broaden Congress’s vote base but has also alienated a key segment of its traditional supporters, especially those who align with the party’s ideology but reject its collaboration with RJD”.There has been a “steady erosion” of the Congress’s core constituency due to its alignment wth the Lalu Prasad-led party, leaving the party “weaker” in the state, Khan claimed. He said the Congress had won 71 seats in 1990 despite “challenging circumstances”. The Congress was the incumbent in the 1990 polls, which saw the emergence of Lalu.“This election showed that even the Muslim-Yadav combination, once considered a key advantage for Mahagathbandhan, has faltered,” Khan said, adding that there was a “growing belief within Congress that it can no longer afford to be seen as a subordinate partner of RJD”.“Unless Congress stands independently and goes through a major struggle to revive itself, it will be impossible to rebuild a strong and independent organisation in Bihar,” he argued.Story continues below this adResponding to Khan’s claims, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari told The Indian Express that making such claims publicly was “not sensible” and that the Congress must decide its future direction on its own.“It is up to Congress leadership to decide whether they want to continue with the alliance or not,” Tiwari said, maintaining that the Congress-RJD relationship has been a “natural alliance”.Tiwari also argued that the Congress’s assertion that the alliance harmed its electoral prospects was “misplaced”. “Congress often demands more seats, but forgets that its performance depends on the alliance with RJD itself,” he said. He also said the RJD’s leadership of the alliance was crucial to “keep communal forces at bay”.Rejecting Khan’s statement that the alliance has eroded the Congress’s vote base, Tiwari pointed out that the RJD secured the single largest share of votes in the state and was “instrumental” in securing seats for the Congress. “The alliance is meant to counter forces like the BJP. Our leaders, Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav, have made sacrifices and respected our allies. Congress should refrain from making such statements,” he added.Story continues below this adAn AICC leader for Bihar also said that Khan should desist from openly making such remarks. “Yes, some of the party candidates who came to Delhi for the review meeting said that the alliance with RJD impacted out chances adversely. But these things should be discussed internally. What is the point of making a public remark against an ally at this time,” he said.Another Congress leader, who contested the Bihar election, echoed him, saying “If we can build a base in the state, then we should surely contest alone. But have we done that? No. Then why say things about an ally when we know the decision has to be taken by the high command.”– With inputs from Asad Rehman in New Delhi