Bihar elections: Congress eyes Seemanchal seats again

PATNA: Congress is once again eyeing the assembly seats in Seemanchal region for the upcoming state election. The party has started its preparation tocontesr the seats in this Muslim-dominated region, especially after it lost the Kishanganj assembly seat to Asaduddin Owasi-led AIMIM.
The Kishanganj seat has become a ‘prestige issue’ for the grand old party and it is trying hard to win it back.
Sources said the party is even planning to begin its virtual rally in the state from this very region. However, senior leaders refused to comment on the issue.
There are 25 assembly seats in the Seemanchal region. In 2015, Congress fought on eight seats in this region and six of its candidates had won. Even though AIMIM made its entry in 2015, the party could not do any harm to RJD-JDU-Congress alliance (Mahagathbandhan ) and lost all the seats.
But the Lok Sabha election results in 2019 made the Congress jittery. Though Congress MLA Mohammad Jawed had won the Kishanganj parliamentary seat by procuring 3,67,017 votes, AIMIM’s Akhtarul Imam managed to get 2,95,029 votes. After Jawed’s entry into Parliament, Congress gave ticket to his mother but lost its sitting Kishanganj assembly seat to AIMIM’s Qamrul Hoda.
In fact, Congress was at third the position and it was BJP’s Sweety Singh, who managed the second highest number of votes in the bypoll. When asked what will be the party’s strategy to win Seemanchal, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary in charge for Bihar, Ajay Kapoor said, “We still have hold in this region. I am sure we will perform well and I will personally visit those areas.”
Congress minority wing head Minnat Rahmani also said that the party has hold in Seemanchal. He further said they will be raising migrant issues and flood in this election and demand Rs 10,000 to be given in account of each family which has no source of income now in Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Congress is scheduled to begin its virtual rally from August 25 across the state. State Congress secretary incharge, Ajay Kapoor said, hundred rallies will be held, which will be addressed by senior leaders. Kapoor further said Rahul Gandhi will also hold virtual rallies next month.