Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the Bihar government had failed to do good for any section of the society and called for a change to ensure freedom from miseries and lies for the state’s hard-working people.

Sonia, who has not been campaigning in elections for the last few years for health reasons, issued an appeal to the voters, saying: “The government lost its way, both in its words and deeds. Every section — farmers, labourers, youth, women… are in distress. Both the governments of Delhi and Bihar are governments of bandi (closures). Note-bandi, lockdown and closures of businesses, industries, economy, employment, agriculture…”

Asking the voters to support the Congress-RJD alliance, she said: “People of Bihar have talent, skills and capacity to work hard. They don’t deserve unemployment, migration, hunger, tears… What they suffered during the lockdown is unspeakable. Time has come for reconstruction of Bihar, for a change.”

She didn’t name chief minister Nitish Kumar or Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress has altered its strategy during the campaign, focusing on local issues and concerns of Bihari voters instead of its usual critique of Modi. Probably taking a cue from RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s obsessive focus on jobs which has shaped the discourse of the Bihar election, the Congress has also avoided dwelling on national issues. They started attacking the BJP and Modi but the focus has now been shifted to Nitish, perceived to be the softest target in this election.

Even the BJP has realised that Nitish had become a liability and has woven a new campaign theme around Modi.

The Congress ran a social media campaign — Speak up for Bihar — on Tuesday which also focused on the miseries of the lockdown and the state government’s failures. Issues like Chinese intrusion, communalism and Article 370 were given a go by.

A statement issued by the Congress’s election in-charge, Randeep Surjewala, also avoided dealing with Modi’s politics. The entire messaging revolved around Nitish’s failures; he was described as “Apradh Kumar” in the context of rising crimes in the state.

Surjewala said: “There has been an increase of 150 per cent in crimes, with 737 crimes happening daily. Bihar is witnessing kidnapping of even children, much more than anywhere in the country.”

The Congress is also laying excessive focus on the miseries of the lockdown as people of Bihar, especially migrant workers, suffered the most during that period. There is a realisation that this strategy has prevented the BJP from diverting attention from real problems and even polarising voters on communal lines.

Rahul Gandhi is going to campaign in Bihar on Wednesday in Valmiki Nagar and Darbhanga. It will be interesting to see whether he too sings a different tune, discarding his usual Modi-centric rhetoric.