PATNA, Jan. 22 -- The Congress party has switched into crisis management mode to keep its handful of MLAs intact from poaching, amidst open declarations by rival parties about their mass desertion after Makar Sankranti.

With speculation swirling that the ruling NDA is actively courting the party's legislators, the All India Congress Committee has called all Bihar Congress MLAs, MPs and state unit chief Rajesh Ram to New Delhi on January 23. The meeting, set for Indira Bhawan, will see them face leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Sources in the party say the gathering is meant to gauge the lawmakers' loyalty and address any grievances, especially with the Bihar assembly's budget session...