Eerie silence at BPCC HQs on poll eve

PATNA: The second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Bihar will take place on Monday. On its eve on Sunday, an eerie silence prevailed over the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) office. The epic fall of the Grand Old Party in Bihar reverberates in the deafening silence that has engulfed the local Congress office, which was once considered to be a parallel power centre.
The party, which has ruled the state for over 35 years after independence, is now struggling to find political space.Of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, the party is contesting only four. The compulsion of present-day politics of sub-nationalism has forced the Congress to play second fiddle to a regional party in the state.
Consequently, the party workers are a dejected lot. And this despondency is more than visible at the Sadaquat Ashram, the local Congress office. Except for the 35 odd office-bearers, the office wears a deserted look.
The once ubiquitous campaign vehicles are also missing. Jagdish Mahto, office driver, recounting the decline, says, "There was a time when the office used to be crowded by vehicles. But for the last 10 years or so, the enthusiasm has died down." Mahto, who has been serving the party for the last several years (his forefathers have also worked in the BPCC office), says, "Earlier, during election time, drivers were much in demand for campaigning but now I am sitting idle."
Netas in crumpled white kurtas are a rare variety here. Party sources say BPCC is afflicted with the "high command syndrome". They say that the Congress high command rarely listens to BPCC and this has up to some extent resulted in the downfall of the party in the state.
A Youth Congress leader of yesteryears alleged that BPCC has become a hub of sycophants. "There is hardly any constructive work taken up by the BPCC. It has become synonymous with favouritism," he said.
Established in 1920 by Maulana Mazharul Haq and Dr Rajendra Prasad, the Sadaquat Ashram played the avant-garde in the country''s struggle for independence.
But its role in state politics has now become debatable. BPCC chief spok-esperson H K Verma says that "Sad-aquat" is a Persian word meaning pious. Indeed, the only thing pious about the office now is its silence.
There is no wild clamour for latching on to power.
Funds are also hard to come by. With Congress sliding to a new low in the state, the funds for advertisements have also dried up, admitted Verma.
Last but not the least, the owner of a tea stall, located just outside the Congress office, narrates the sad story of Congress. "I used to do brisk business when the Congress was a force to reckon with in the state, he says. "Not anymore."