Patna, Nov 11 (IANS): Facing criticism over its lower strike rate, Madan Mohan Jha, Congress state president of Bihar admitted he isn't satisfied with the party's performance in the Bihar assembly elections.

"We fought together with RJD and left parties. We helped each other but were unable to reach at magical figure of 122. So,we are not satisfied with the numbers," Jha said.

He alleged a conspiracy was devised to defeat candidates of the Mahagathbandhan. "In at least 20 constituencies, the CM himself applied pressure on returning officers for recounting. Our candidates were in a close fight with NDA candidates. But the CM hijacked the mandate," Jha told IANS.

"I want to ask the Election Commission why recounting was done only on those seats where Mahagathbandhan had won the election. In Hilsa, our candidate Shakti Singh had won with a margin of 600 votes. The returning officer delayed giving him a certificate and went for recounting. As a result, he lost to the JDU candidate with a slim margin of 12 votes. In Muzaffarpur, the returning officer even congratulated the Mahagathbandhan candidate and then he lost the election after recounting," Jha said.

"Why did the Election Commission not initiate recounting on seats where we demanded," asked Jha.

The Congress contested on 70 seats in Bihar under the umbrella of the Mahagathbandhan and managed to win just 19 seats. Since its strike rate is extremely low compared to the 2015 assembly election, the party is facing criticism inside the Mahagathbandhan.

In 2015, the Congress had contested on 41 seats and managed to win 27 seats.

"We will do self-analysis on the 2020 results and address the gap accordingly," added Jha.