PATNA: The opposition INDIA bloc on Thursday declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav its chief ministerial candidate for Bihar assembly polls, in what is being seen as a last-ditch effort to put an end to squabbles and project unity ahead of the elections.Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, who has been camping in Patna since Wednesday to iron out differences with the RJD, said the decision had the approval of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi.Addressing a crowded press conference here, Gehlot also said VikassheelInsan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni and leaders from other sections of society will be deputy CMs if the INDIA bloc comes to power in the state, “keeping in mind the complex social structure of Bihar”.“We have decided, after consultations with our national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, besides all coalition partners who are here, to name Tejashwi Yadav ji as our chief ministerial candidate”, Gehlot said.Incidentally, demands have been made by a section of Congress leaders in Bihar that it would like one of its leaders, preferably a Muslim or a Dalit, as a deputy CM if the multi-party coalition came to power.Speaking at the same press conference, Yadav, who had led the Mahagathbandhan in the last assembly polls, thanked his allies for reposing his trust in him again and said, “It was not a big issue for us, but since there was so much media speculation, we decided to make it clear.”Later, Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera, who was present at the press conference, told reporters, “We have taken the lead by announcing our face. Now it is for the NDA to stop equivocating on the issue and declaring whom it proposes to make the CM if it forms the government”.Notably, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the second most powerful leader in the NDA after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently said that the coalition would contest the assembly polls “under the leadership” of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), but “the legislators would decide” who will occupy the top post after the elections.The remark has been seen by many as a sign that the BJP, which had outperformed the JD(U) in the last assembly elections, now wanted to have its own chief minister in the only Hindi heartland state where it is yet to occupy the seat of power.Meanwhile, the NDA insisted that attempts at putting up a united face notwithstanding, cracks within the INDIA bloc were there for all to see.The BJP shared on its X handle a photograph of the poster put up at the press conference, with a huge image of Yadav, highlighting the fact “there are not even thumbnails of other INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi”.Independent MP Pappu Yadav, who supports the Congress but has been critical of the RJD, said, “Dalits and the extremely backward classes would vote for the INDIA bloc only because of Rahul Gandhi. His image should have been there. Alliance partners like Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-ML Liberation general secretary) should also have been in the poster.”Union minister Chirag Paswan, whose LJP(R) is the NDA’s third largest constituent, said, “Our campaign has already picked up. My voice has gone hoarse addressing rallies. But leaders of the INDIA bloc are yet to step out of their rooms”.JD(U) MLC and spokesman Neeraj Kumar called Tejashwi Yadav “an angry child who has been handed over a lollipop” and recounted “massive defeats of 2019 and 2024” when the RJD leader was spearheading the INDIA bloc’s campaign in Lok Sabha polls.
PTI
What Tejashwi said after being named as CM face
PATNA: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who was named as Congress-led Mahagathbandhan’s CM face for the forthcoming Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, on Thursday thanked allies for showing trust in his leadership.Speaking to reporters in Patna, Yadav said that the aim of Mahagathbandhan is not just to form the government or become CM but to develop the state of Bihar.“We, the people of Mahagathbandhan, do not just want to form the govt or become the CM, but we want to make Bihar, that is why we are together… I thank all the members of the Mahagathbandhan for showing trust in me,” he said.The RJD leader said that he will do everything possible to live up to the expectations of the alliance partners, asserting that “together we will throw the 20-year-old government that is currently in power.”Yadav also took a swipe at the NDA, saying injustice is being done to Nitish Kumar as the ruling alliance has not made an official announcement for their CM face.“We have been saying from the beginning that the people of the BJP are not going to make Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister,” he claimed.He further stated that the NDA has been in power for 20 consecutive years and they have always announced their Chief Ministerial candidate.“Why aren’t you announcing Nitish Kumar as the Chief Ministerial candidate this time?… After the elections, these people will destroy the JD(U) as well. The party will cease to exist,” he added.He said that if the Mahagathbandhan government is formed under his leadership, he will do the development works in just 20 months that NDA could not do in 20 years. “We have pledged that there will be no family without a Govt job.”“Tejashwi ki parchhai (shadow) bhi agar galat kaam karegi to hus ko bhi Tejashwi sazadilane ka kaam karega, yeh sankalphai. Ek naya Bihar banane ka kaam hum karenge,” he remarked.
Agencies