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NEW DELHI: Congress leader Ajay Maken on Saturday expressed concerns over the Bihar assembly election results announced on Friday, where the party faced a major setback, winning less than 10% of the seats it contested and ending in single digits.Speaking to reporters, Maken said there were “question marks” over the entire electoral process and claimed the results were unexpected for all alliance partners.”There has been a question mark over the entire election process right from the beginning. When that is the case, results will be unexpected like this. There was never a strike rate like this. Even Congress didn’t have a strike rate like this in 1984, as is the case with the BJP in these elections,” Maken was quoted as saying by ANI.“Something is amiss,” Maken said, adding that workers from across Bihar had reported alleged discrepancies.Maken also added that the party and its allies would examine all available data, including Form 17C and voter lists, before presenting their findings. He added that the opposition bloc had agreed to review and analyse the results thoroughly.”We have been getting phone calls from workers across Bihar that there have been discrepancies and it should be investigated. Our people are collecting the data, we will see Form 17 C, voters list and then come to you with facts and data,” Maken said.The comments followed a meeting between senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge. AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, treasurer Ajay Maken, and Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru were also present, as cited by PTI.Sources said the meeting was held to assess the Congress’s weak performance in Bihar, with the party winning only six of the 61 seats it fought. It is the Congress’s second-worst result in the state after 2010, when it had managed just four seats.Venugopal also expressed strong doubts over the election results. Speaking to reporters after leaving Kharge’s residence, Venugopal said the outcome was “unbelievable” for the Congress and its alliance partners, who he claimed also did not expect such results.”The result which has come from Bihar is unbelievable for all of us. Our alliance parties do not believe it. We are collecting data and conducting a thorough analysis, and within 1 to 2 weeks, we will provide concrete proof. The Election Commission is totally one-sided… This process is questionable,” Venugopal said.On Friday, Rahul said the Bihar election outcome was unexpected. He alleged that the process was unfair from the start, which hindered the party’s performance. He added that the Congress and the INDIA bloc will carry out a detailed review of the results.
