BHABUA/GAYA JI, Nov. 16 -- The Congress was wiped out in Shahabad, Magadh, Ang, Mithila and Saran regions of Bihar in the recently concluded Assembly elections, where the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 202 seats out of 243 seats. The party performed poorly even in areas once considered its strongholds, though victories on four seats in Seemanchal and two in Champaran helped it save face. The number of Congress MLAs dropped from 19 in 2020 to just six this time, despite the party fielding 61 candidates. Senior leaders such as state president Rajesh Ram, legislative party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, former minister Awadhesh Singh and Ajit Sharma suffered defeats. The Congress won four seats in Seemanchal - Forbesganj, Kishanganj, Manihari and Araria - and two in Champaran - Valmikinagar and Chanpatia. Only two MLAs, Abidur Rahman from Araria and Manohar Prasad Singh from Manihari, managed to retain their seats. The victory margins were narrow: 602 votes in Chanpatia and just 221 in Forbesganj. In 2020, the party had won three seats in the Shahabad region - Buxar, Rajpur (SC) and Kargahar - and Aurangabad, Obra and Atari in the Magadh region. The Grand Alliance (GA) had then bagged 19 of the 22 seats in Shahabad and 20 of the 26 seats in Magadh. This time, however, the GA failed to open its account in 15 of the state's 38 districts, including Shivhar, Sitamarhi, Supaul, Purnia, Darbhanga, Gopalganj, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Bhojpur and Arwal - nearly 42% of Bihar's districts. Party leaders have now begun a round of introspection. Analysts believe the primary reason for the defeat was the lack of strategic coordination not only within the Congress but also across the GA....