Patna, March 21
The alliance politics has not yielded dividends for the Congress in Bihar where it has been in partnership for the last 26 years.
The party has obtained more than 10 per cent votes only once in the Lok Sabha elections held in the state in the last 26 years. The grand old party has been in alliance with the RJD since 1998 in the state.
In 1998, the Congress contested 21 seats in undivided Bihar which had 54 Lok Sabha constituencies then. It had won only five seats and secured 7.27 per cent votes.
In 1999, the Congress contested 16 seats out of 54 and won only four. The total vote percentage of the party was 8.81 per cent.
In 2004, Bihar had 40 Lok Sabha seats and the Congress was given just four seats. It performed well with the 75 per cent strike rate and won three seats. The vote percentage was 4.49 per cent.
In 2009, the Congress demanded more seats. After the RJD refused, the dispute over seat-sharing aggravated to the extent that the alliance fell apart. As a result, Congress party went alone and contested all 40 Lok Sabha seats but managed to win only two. The vote percentage of the Congress party was 10.3 per cent.
After dismal performance in 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Congress again formed an alliance with the RJD in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and contested 11 seats. It, however, won only two seats and got a vote percentage of 8.56.
In 2019, Congress contested nine seats and won only one seat -- Kishanganj. The vote percentage fell to 7.7.
The Congress is contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election under the umbrella of INDIA bloc and is expecting 12 seats. The party leaders are eyeing the seats of Seemanchal, Kosi and Mithilanchal regions.
The seat-sharing formula in the INDIA bloc is expected to be finalised on Thursday.