The%20dismal%20showing%20by%20the%20Congress%20in%20the%20recently%20concluded%20Bihar%20assembly%20elections%20has%20deepened%20the%20sense%20of%20doom%20and%20gloom%20that%20prevails%20in%20the%20party.%20The%20party%20not%20only%20failed%20to%20pull%20its%20weight%2C%20it%20managed%20to%20win%20only%2017%20of%20the%2070%20seats%20it%20had%20contested%2C%20faring%20worse%20than%20in%20the%202015%20elections%2C%20in%20which%20it%20had%20won%2027%20seats.%20Many%20believe%20the%20Congress%20party%u2019s%20dismal%20performance%20cost%20the%20%27mahagatbandhan%27%20the%20chance%20to%20form%20the%20government.

Though%20the%20Congress%20leadership%20may%20like%20to%20believe%20that%20despite%20the%20drubbing%20in%20the%20recently%20concluded%20Bihar%20elections%2C%20all%20is%20well%20in%20the%20party%2C%20former%20union%20minister%20Kapil%20Sibal%20has%20spoken%20out%20against%20the%20party%20leadership%27s%20failure%20to%20apply%20correctives%2C%20another%20prominent%20Rajya%20Sabha%20MP%20who%20met%20Rahul%20Gandhi%20two%20days%20back%20and%20demanded%20a%20drastic%20course%20correction.%26nbsp%3B

Sibal%20has%20in%20characteristic%20style%20openly%20put%20the%20onus%20of%20the%20defeat%20on%20the%20failure%20of%20the%20Congress%20leadership%20to%20recognise%20the%20reasons%20for%20the%20defeat%20and%20to%20apply%20the%20correctives.%20%u201CEverybody%20knows%20why%20we%20are%20losing%20%2C%20we%20must%20boldly%20move%20ahead%20and%20make%20the%20changes%20that%20are%20necessary%2C%u201D%20says%20Sibal.

The%20eminent%20jurist%20refrained%20from%20pinpointing%20individuals%20but%20its%20clear%20that%20like%20several%20other%20prominent%20members%20of%20the%20party%2C%20he%20too%20holds%20the%20leadership%20responsible.%26nbsp%3B

%u201CWe%20need%20a%20major%20course%20correction%2C%20the%20results%20from%20Bihar%20and%20from%20Gujarat%2C%20UP%2C%20MP%20have%20demonstrated%20that%20unless%20we%20bring%20about%20drastic%20changes%2C%20we%20will%20continue%20to%20fail%2C%u201D%20says%20Sibal.%26nbsp%3B

Last%20August%2C%20Sibal%20was%20one%20of%20the%2023%20signatories%20who%20had%20written%20to%20Congress%20president%20Sonia%20Gandhi%20asking%20for%20a%20proactive%20leadership%20and%20demanding%20drastic%20changes%20in%20the%20way%20the%20party%20functions.

While%20the%20other%20signatories%20have%20chosen%20to%20keep%20their%20powder%20dry%20for%20the%20moment%20Sibal%20has%20decided%20to%20air%20his%20views.%20Significantly%2C%20three%20days%20back%2C%20former%20party%20chief%20Rahul%20Gandhi%20had%20a%20detailed%20meeting%20with%20one%20of%20the%20signatories%20to%20the%20August%20letter.%26nbsp%3B

Though%20Rahul%20heard%20him%20out%20patiently%2C%20he%20felt%20that%20he%20was%20being%20unfairly%20blamed%20for%20the%20inaction%20on%20the%20part%20of%20the%20leadership%20or%20for%20holding%20up%20reforms%20within%20the%20party.%20%u201CI%u2019m%20not%20the%20president%20of%20the%20party%20and%20cannot%20bring%20about%20out%20the%20changes%22%20he%20said.

While%20Rahul%20Gandhi%20may%20be%20technically%20correct%2C%20the%20fact%20is%20that%20most%20of%20the%20decisions%20within%20the%20party%20have%20his%20imprint%20and%20are%20taken%20in%20consultation%20with%20him.%26nbsp%3B

In%20the%20wake%20of%20the%20letter%20in%20August%2C%20the%20Congress%20promised%20as%20a%20part%20of%20its%20democratisation%20process%20to%20hold%20elections%20to%20the%20post%20of%20the%20President%20and%20the%20CWC%2C%20but%20barring%20some%20tentative%20steps%2C%20little%20has%20happened%20on%20that%20front.%20As%20the%20Congress%20lurches%20from%20one%20defeat%20to%20another%2C%20the%20mood%20in%20the%20rank%20and%20file%20is%20at%20its%20lowest.

What%20should%20worry%20the%20Congress%20even%20more%20is%20the%20restiveness%20amongst%20its%20allies.%20There%20is%20a%20grave%20sense%20of%20heartburn%20within%20the%20RJD%20for%20parting%20with%2070%20seats%20to%20the%20Congress.%20Several%20senior%20RJD%20leaders%20believe%20that%20it%20was%20the%20failure%20of%20the%20Congress%20that%20eventually%20cost%20the%20alliance%20the%20government.%26nbsp%3B

Veteran%20RJD%20leader%20Shivanand%20Tewari%20has%20lashed%20out%20at%20the%20Congress%20leadership%20for%20adopting%20a%20casual%20attitude%20towards%20the%20elections.%20%u201CThey%20were%20not%20serious%20and%20expected%20Tejaswi%20Yadav%20to%20do%20the%20heavy%20lifting%20for%20them%2C%20while%20Rahul%20Gandhi%20was%20busy%20holiday%20in%20Himachal%20Pradesh%2C%u201D%20Shivanand%20Tewari%20told%20Opoyi%20over%20the%20phone%20from%20Patna.

It%u2019s%20not%20just%20RJD%20that%20feels%20this%20way.%20Most%20of%20its%20allies%20are%20of%20the%20same%20view.%20SP%20chief%20Akhilesh%20Yadav%20has%20on%20more%20than%20one%20occasion%20admitted%20to%20this%20writer%20that%20he%20made%20a%20huge%20mistake%20in%20giving%20over%20125%20seats%20to%20the%20Congress%20during%20the%20last%20assembly%20elections%20in%20UP.%26nbsp%3B

The%20DMK%20also%20has%20a%20similar%20grouse.%20During%20the%20last%20assembly%20polls%20in%20the%20state%2C%20the%20Congress%20prevailed%20upon%20the%20DMK%20to%20part%20with%2041%20seats%20but%20could%20win-%20only%208%20seats.%20%22The%20problem%20with%20the%20Congress%20is%20that%20if%20you%20allow%20them%20to%20hold%20your%20little%20finger%20they%20end%20up%20grabbing%20your%20throat.%u201D%26nbsp%3B

While%20that%20may%20or%20may%20not%20be%20true%20%2C%20fact%20is%20that%20the%20Congress%20wants%20to%20contest%20a%20large%20number%20of%20seats%20by%20virtue%20of%20being%20national%20party%2C%20but%20its%20performance%20off%20late%20has%20fallen%20far%20short%20of%20expectations.

%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Congress%22%20data-user-id%3D%22KGrnteP5qPtc%22%20href%3D%22/topic/congress%22%3E%23Congress%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23BiharElection2020%22%20data-user-id%3D%22BV2zd2QfB7Kx%22%20href%3D%22/topic/bihar-election-2020%22%3E%23BiharElection2020%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23RJD%22%20data-user-id%3D%22o8dyCkCeGRfw%22%20href%3D%22/topic/rjd%22%3E%23RJD%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23TejashwiYadav%22%20data-user-id%3D%2242LF5CuYoO3t%22%20href%3D%22/topic/tejashwi-yadav%22%3E%23TejashwiYadav%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23RahulGandhi%22%20data-user-id%3D%22kRlIzzDlxJw7%22%20href%3D%22/topic/rahul-gandhi%22%3E%23RahulGandhi%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Politics%22%20data-user-id%3D%22ODQ1kqHlUPEu%22%20href%3D%22/topic/politics%22%3E%23Politics%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B