‘Party will study Bihar Assembly election results’: Public Works minister Satish Jarkiholi

BELAGAVI: After the Congress suffered a massive defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections, which saw it pushed down to a single digit, PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi stated that the Congress will analyse the results of the Bihar assembly election and begin planning for the next elections.

Speaking to reporters, Satish Jarkiholi said, “We did not expect this would happen. Don’t know what happened at a local level. The party will have to study this. We should start planning from now what to do differently in the next elections after five years…”

#WATCH | Belagavi | On NDA’s landslide victory in the Bihar elections, Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi says, “We did not expect this would happen. Don’t know what happened at a local level. The party will have to study this. We should start planning from now what to do… pic.twitter.com/96wDlVfrVC

— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2025

Earlier, reacting to the poll results, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed the Bihar Assembly election was “unfair from the beginning” after Congress could not secure double-digit seats despite contesting 61 seats. Gandhi said that the party will review its performance after the election and assured that Congress will continue to “fight for the protection of the Constitution and democracy.”

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “I express my heartfelt gratitude to those millions of voters in Bihar who expressed their trust in the Mahagathbandhan. This result in Bihar is truly surprising. We could not achieve victory in an election that was unfair from the very beginning.”

“This fight is for the protection of the Constitution and democracy. The Congress Party and the INDIA alliance will deeply review this result and make their efforts to save democracy even more effective,” he added.

The NDA’s ‘tsunami’ swept away the opposition RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, as they won 202 seats out of 243. BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) finished a close second with 85. The other allies of the ruling coalition also registered high strike rates as Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) won five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha won four seats.

Facing major setbacks, Mahagathbandhan got just 35 seats with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) winning 25 seats, Congress 6, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) – CPI(ML)(L) – two, Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) – one and Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPI(M) one seat. The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won five seats, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got one seat. (ANI)