India, Oct. 26 -- When Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sent one his most trusted man Krishna Allavaru to Bihar earlier this year, it looked like the beginning of a rare experiment inside the Congress a deliberate attempt to end decades of quiet submission to senior partner Lalu Prasad Yadav led Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Allavaru came with impeccable credentials: an LLM from Georgetown, an MBA from INSEAD, and a reputation within Team Rahul as a clean, meticulous organiser who spoke the language of systems, not favours. As national in-charge of the Indian Youth Congress, he had already earned Rahul's trust. His appointment to Bihar, replacing Mohan Prakash, was meant to signal that the state unit would no longer be run from Lalu's drawing room....