Lucknow/New Delhi: The nominations for the second phase of Bihar polls ended Monday, but the seat-sharing deal between the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress is still not finalised.
The deadlock reportedly happened because Krishna Allavaru, the Congress’s Bihar in-charge, took a tough stand during seat-sharing talks.
A section within the Congress is unhappy with Allavaru’s role in the alliance talks and ticket distribution, a fact amply made clear by Katihar MP Tariq Anwar who questioned the ticket distribution process. Bihar Congress research wing head Anand Madhav, former MLA Gajanand Shahi are among local leaders who resigned in protest.
On Wednesday evening, Allavaru along with Congress state president Rajesh Ram and legislature party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan faced protests at Patna airport when party workers clashed over allegations of favouritism and ticket sales.
“Several issues led to the tussle, and Allavaru refused to compromise. The RJD was willing to offer 55 seats to the Congress, but Allavaru insisted on 61,” a senior Bihar leader involved in seat negotiations told ThePrint.
“Lalganj, Vaishali, Bachhwara, Kahalgaon, Bihar Sharif, and Gaura Bauram are the seats where the Congress wants to contest, even though the RJD is either fielding its candidates or leaving them for the Left parties. As a result, a friendly fight is likely there.”
On Monday, the RJD released its list of 143 candidates on the last day of nominations for the second and final phase of the Bihar elections. The Congress has announced 60 candidates.
बिहार विधानसभा चुनाव-2025 के लिए राष्ट्रीय जनता दल द्वारा चयनित प्रत्याशियों की सूची।
सभी उम्मीदवारों को हार्दिक बधाई एवं विजय की अग्रिम शुभकामनाएं। #Bihar #RJD pic.twitter.com/QI7ckgoIQ6
— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) October 20, 2025
Another sticking point is the Mahagatbandhan’s chief ministerial face as the RJD is keen on Tejashwi Yadav leading the alliance. “The second phase of nominations is almost over; no announcement has been made yet. Allavaru didn’t want any such declaration from the Congress side,” the above-mentioned leader said.
A senior party functionary told ThePrint that the party symbol was distributed without even informing senior leaders. “Our alliance deal with the RJD remained uncertain until the very last moment, which didn’t send a good message before polling. Who’s responsible for that? Let’s wait for the results.”
Bihar Congress spokesperson Gyan Ranjan, however, skipped any mention of unease regarding the party in-charge for Bihar.
“Soon after taking charge as state in-charge (in February), Allavaru began energising the party cadre. He not only planned yatras but also launched the Ghar Ghar Jhanda campaign, encouraging party workers to hoist the Congress flag on their doors or rooftops. A GPS-based monitoring system was introduced to track the campaign’s progress,” he told ThePrint.
“Over the past six months, Allavaru ji has made every effort to mobilise grassroots workers. He keeps a low-profile and puts party workers on priority. In the first list of candidates, there isn’t a single leader’s son or daughter. He prioritised those who have been active on the ground. That is why we got those seats this time, which we wanted to contest.”
ThePrint reached Allavaru over phone calls but he was unavailable for comment. This article will be updated as and when a response is received.
“In the beginning, our party appeared weak as a junior partner. The RJD was initially unwilling to offer more than 40 seats, but eventually, the Congress managed to secure around 60—the reason being Allavaru’s firm stance,” a senior leader in All India Congress Committee (AICC) told ThePrint.
“That’s also why he faced resistance within the party. Many now see him as the first state in charge in the past two decades who refused to compromise with the Lalu family.”
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Rahul acolyte
When he took over from senior Congress leader Mohan Prakash in Bihar, many in the party were taken aback at the high command’s decision. Now, the 51-year-old is regarded as one of the key strategists behind Rahul Gandhi’s Vote Adhikar Yatra. Though he officially became a joint secretary in 2018, he had long been part of the core team managing the youth wing under Rahul’s guidance.
“When we heard about his appointment as state in-charge, we were a bit surprised. On paper, he was only a joint secretary and Youth Congress in-charge, not a general secretary, nor had he ever managed a major state. But given his proximity to the high command (read Rahul), no one questioned the decision. Still, many of us felt that a state like Bihar required a seasoned leader, not just a backroom strategist,” a Bihar MP told ThePrint.
The opinion was seconded by a senior observer from north India who is working in Bihar. “Allavaru may have done commendable work in the Youth Congress, but Bihar is a different playing field. Here, only those with strong political instincts survive. He is quite a reserved person, whereas in states like UP and Bihar, people appreciate leaders who are interactive and communicative,” the senior observer told ThePrint.
Before joining the Indian Youth Congress as a national executive member in 2010, Allavaru worked for five years as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group in Singapore. Prior to that, he had served as a senior consultant at KPMG India and co-founded Shaadis.com Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai, according to his profile in LinkedIn.
Nevertheless, Allavaru undertook extensive visits to connect with the organisation’s grassroots workers. Within a month of his appointment, the party elevated Dalit MLA Rajesh Ram as the Bihar unit chief. According to Congress insiders, Allavaru strongly pushed for Ram’s elevation, replacing Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who was considered close to RJD chief Lalu Yadav.
He also played a key role in reactivating youth leader Kanhaiya Kumar’s political presence in Bihar by planning the Palayan Roko, Naukri Do padyatra. Within a few months, Allavaru managed to energise the party cadre, according to people close to him.
Allavaru, according to a Congress functionary, played a key role in designing training programmes for the Youth Congress. He introduced the ‘One Unit Management’ model, which focused on the micromanagement and organisational strengthening of youth units across the country.
”I remember he used to train members on the micro-management of district, block, and booth units, including strategies to raise issues and organise protests against governments. He emphasised the importance of involving youth in politics,” the functionary said, adding that he was known as a ‘training master’ for his modules that he presented using a laptop.
Many believe he joined the party in 2010 following a meeting with Rahul, who was then in charge of the Youth Congress and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
“How he first met Rahul and decided to leave his corporate career for politics remains unclear, but that meeting reportedly changed his outlook towards public life,” a former Youth Congress leader told ThePrint. “Rahul trusts him because he gave up a lucrative career to become a political activist. As far as I remember, he was actively involved in organising relief camps during the 2013 Uttarakhand floods.”
The Andhra Pradesh native came into the spotlight in 2021 when he was sent by the Congress high command as an observer in Punjab after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s resignation. Many in Congress circles believe Allavaru recommended Charanjit Channi to Rahul as a suitable CM candidate.
Former Youth Congress chief Srinivas B.V., who worked with Allavaru for over a decade, recalled that the latter prefers to listen more and speak less. “He believes in getting the job done,” Srinivas said. “It was under his leadership in the Youth Congress that we began appointing spokespersons. He launched the Young India Ke Bol programme to give young people from different regions a platform to voice their opinions on current issues.”
Similarly, Mohammed Haris Nalapad, a former president of the Karnataka Youth Congress, asserted that Allavaru is a result-oriented person who doesn’t believe in flattery. “Allavaru works round-the-clock for the party and for Rahul Gandhi. He never flaunts his achievements and prefers to stay low-key. I remember during the Youth Congress membership drive, he ensured that all the funds collected were placed in a fixed deposit for the organisation’s use,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)