New Delhi : The Congress hopes to benefit from the INDIA bloc coordination in Bihar and will deploy party chief Mallikarjun Kharge for campaigning in Katihar on April 19 and ex chief Rahul Gandhi in Kishanganj on April 20.

The Congress got its traditional Katihar seat after several rounds of negotiations with the RJD and has fielded former MP and ex CWC member Tariq Anwar from there.

“Kharge’s rally on April 19 will be a major booster to my campaign. The INDIA alliance is working on the ground. Our alliance partners are now active across the state,” Tariq Anwar told ETV Bharat.

The Congress has repeated its sitting Kishanganj MP Mohamed Jawed for a second term.

In the previous 2019 national polls, the Congress had contested 9 out of 40 seats and won only Kishanganj. The RJD had contested 19 seats but failed to win any seat. The BJP had contested 17 seats and won 17, the JD-U contested 17 and won 16 and the LJNSP contested six and won 6 seats.

In 2024, the Congress is contesting 9 seats, RJD 26 seats and the Left parties 5 seats as part of the INDIA bloc which is focusing on social justice and welfare.

“I have requested Rahul Gandhi to address a rally in Kishanganj on April 20. That will be a major booster to our campaign. The INDIA bloc is putting up a very good fight and we will win more than half of the seats this time,” Mohamed Jawed told ETV Bharat.

The remaining seven seats in Congress quota are Bhagalpur, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, West Champaran, Patna Sahib, Sasaram and Maharajganj.

According to the Congress leaders, the party’s social justice campaign was being received very well by the people who were miffed with the ruling BJP-JD-U combine.

“The Congress-RJD alliance could win only a seat in 2019 but will do much better this time. The social justice guarantees of the Congress are being received well by the people. Bihar has always been a champion of social justice. The voters are unhappy with the JD-U leader and chief minister Nitish Kumar leaving our alliance and going back to the BJP. They will teach the ruling combine a lesson,” said Tariq Anwar.

Both Anwar and Jawed said the cooperation within the opposition alliance was working on the ground and joint rallies of big leaders would be planned over the coming days.

“There are four RJD MLAs in my parliamentary constituency and they are more active than me. Cooperation between the alliance workers is taking place on the ground. Big leaders would also campaign across the state,” said Jawed.

However, party insiders said that Rahul Gandhi did not accept a request from the RJD to campaign in Purnia seat to avoid confusion between the alliance.

Local leader Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav who is contesting in Purnia as an Independent is being supported by the Congress workers while RJD’s Bima Bharti is the alliance nominee. Pappu had merged his Jan Adhikar Party with Congress in the hope of a ticket but the seat went to RJD quota.

Pappu Yadav’s move to fight as an Independent has miffed Bihar Congress chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh but ex RJD leader Devendra Prasad Yadav has now come out in his support.