Newly anointed Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Rajesh Kumar was mobbed by party workers when he arrived at Sadaquat Ashram in Patna on 22 March to assume office.

His appointment is seen as a bid to reclaim the party’s standing in Bihar, particularly among marginalised communities, even while navigating a delicate relationship with alliance partner RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) ahead of state assembly elections.

As he waited for the outgoing president to arrive at the party office and hand over charge, and even amidst the incessant phone calls and visitors, the unassuming two-time MLA took time off to speak to Vishwadeepak. excerpts from a disarming conversation:

You’ve been appointed the Bihar Congress chief just ahead of elections, even though the outgoing BPCC chief still had time left in his term. What’s the strategy?

Look, the Congress is a democratic party with a constitution. There are rules laid out for presidents and everyone else. But the party high command has the authority to take [overriding] decisions in the party’s interest, when needed; the big leaders come together to take such calls.

In the past eight years, the Bihar Congress has had three presidents, but it has not been able to even set up district-level committees since 2017…

Give it some time; just wait and watch.

Reviving the party in Bihar—which tends to have a ripple effect on national politics—is a big challenge. How do you plan to do it?

My political training began way back in 1981, when I used to hang around my late father Dilkeshwar Ram and his political associates. In those days, no domestic staff were available; kids ran errands and did the tea and water rounds. I have 35-odd years of hands-on organisational experience. You’ll see a mix of experience and youthful energy in the days ahead, as I believe the party’s senior leadership envisages.

You’ve given the party many years of course, but did you imagine you’d be entrusted with such a big responsibility? Was it a surprise?

(Gets teary) It’s an emotional moment for me.

Now that you’ve taken charge, what will be your top priority?

My priority is to take everyone along—both workers and leaders—and move forward as a team. The appointment order came at 11:30 p.m. I was in Delhi. But I got to work right away, started meeting people. Everyone I spoke to reassured me, saying, “We worked with your father, and you’ll have our support too.” A lot of current-day senior leaders were my father’s colleagues in the party organisation and/ or government. I have personal ties with each one of them.

You’re in alliance with the RJD, and in Bihar, the RJD will see itself as the Big Brother. Do you see this as a challenge?

That’s entirely for the central leadership to decide; they will take that call.

You come from the Dalit community. Many believe the Congress is trying to win back its old vote bank— Dalits, upper castes and Muslims. how will you reconnect with voters who drifted away?

I’d submit the traditional Congress voters never deserted us. Yes, our hold and connect did weaken, but the party used to poll 36 per cent votes for a good reason. We’ll study things on the ground. We’ll try and understand what each section of society is going through, and tailor our outreach to their problems, needs and demands. When we start talking to people about their real issues, when we resume that dialogue, why won’t they come back? You’ll remember that it was the Congress that instituted the Sachar Committee for minorities. They’ll all come on board; we’ll bring them back.

In its heyday, the party used to have a strong rural base, which it seems to have lost almost entirely. How will you reclaim the villages, the hinterland?

Look, I mainly live in the village—and if I live in the village, the party does too. We’ve already launched a campaign—the ‘Palayan Roko, Naukri Do’ yatra (Stop the migration, give jobs), which should give you a sense of how we’ll go about it.

Everyone knows caste is a big issue in Bihar. Rahul Gandhi often talks about a caste census, but he was critical of the survey done in Bihar. Is the party worker confused? how will you move forward on this issue?

We supported Nitishji on this issue, but it all comes down to intent. What’s the point of just conducting a census? The Bihar caste survey does not truly reflect social realities. That’s why Rahulji criticised it—the method was flawed. Then there is the question of honest implementation. The Nitish Kumar government increased quotas to 65 per cent but the Patna High Court disallowed it because he didn’t follow the required constitutional procedures to back it up. So, yes, the Bihar caste survey is a sham.

How will you differentiate Bihar Congress from the BJP or NDA?

There is a very critical difference: we talk about public interest, the truth, communal harmony. The BJP talks about hate and corporate interests; they topple elected governments and snatch mandates. We’ll defeat them with our work.