The All India Congress Committee (AICC) Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru cracked the whip on his maiden visit to the state capital on Thursday, asking the party leaders to stay away from factionalism, work hard and visit the rural hinterland instead of just travelling to Delhi.

Allavaru vowed to bring back the Congress’ lost glory in the state. His frank assessment and statements signalled that there could be a change in the offing in the party’s Bihar unit at a time when the Assembly election is around eight months away.

“We expect to see you more in the field and less in Patna. The road to success in the Assembly or Lok Sabha elections goes through the wards, booths, villages and panchayats. Go, visit them. Go to each and every village. The key to the treasure chest lies there,” Allavaru said.

Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president and Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Prasad Singh, former Union minister Shakeel Ahmad, senior leaders, Madan Mohan Jha, Chandan Bagchi, state women’s Congress president Sarwat Jahan Fatema, and several others were present on the occasion.

He stressed the importance of unity and asked the leaders to desist from indulging in groupism or factionalism within the party.

“We must draw a lakshmanrekha (boundary or limit). The leaders who indulge in factionalism will go out of the party. Even if any big leader does so, we have to stop him. Nobody will come from Delhi to do it for you. We have to do this together. It is extremely important to fight in a united manner. Politics is teamwork just like cricket,”
Allavaru added.

The Karnataka leader, who is also the in-charge of the Indian Youth Congress, asserted that tickets in the forthcoming Bihar Assembly polls would be given only to those who work hard and fight for the people.