Clearing weeks of uncertainty, Oppn declares Tejashwi as CM face for Bihar

PATNA: Clearing weeks of confusion and uncertainty, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav was named on Thursday as the Chief Ministerial face of the Opposition’s Mahagathbandhan.

As Bihar gears up for a high-voltage, high-stakes two-phase Assembly election, Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot named Tejashwi as its Chief Ministerial face at a joint press conference of Mahagathbandhan allies.

In response, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a blistering attack on the RJD leader, dismissing his promises as “empty rhetoric” and warning that Bihar would not return to the “dark era of Jungle Raj”

Shortly after being formally named the chief ministerial face for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election, Tejashwi dared the NDA to declare its CM face, while alleging that the alliance has no vision or agenda. Tejashwi’s challenge drew sharp reactions from BJP leaders, who dismissed his selection as the INDIA bloc’s CM candidate as “dynastic” and “meaningless”.

Tejashwi Yadav said, “We’ve never been confused about this. We’re clear on this matter. But the question is, who will be the NDA’s face? So far, no joint press conference has been held, no vision revealed, no agenda announced, and no Chief Minister announced. Amit Shah’s statement clearly shows that Nitish Kumar is not going to be made Chief Minister.”

The RJD leader reiterated that his “only dream is to make Bihar number one”, adding that his party makes ``no broken or false promises.’’

Gehlot said the Mahagathbandhan had chosen Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial face because he is “young” and “committed”.

He threw a dare to the BJP. “I want to ask Amit Shah... our leader is Tejashwi Yadav. Now they should confirm who is their (NDA) Chief Minister face.” Gehlot also announced that Mukesh Sahani, the chief of Vikassheel Insaan Party, is the alliance’s Deputy Chief Minister candidate but added that more deputies could be announced later. The veteran leader said Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, wanted Tejashwi Yadav to be the opposition’s Chief Ministerial face.

Addressing the press meet which was being dubbed as a show of unity of the opposition bloc, Tejashwi said the Mahagathbandhan will work together to rebuild Bihar.

Taking a swipe at NDA, he said, “Nitish Kumar is facing injustice. There has been no announcement that Nitish Kumar is the NDA’s Chief Ministerial face. We want to ask Amit Shah, you declared Nitish Kumar as the Chief Ministerial face before every election, why not this time? This is Nitish Kumar’s last election. Amit Shah has made it clear.”

Seat-sharing negotiations between the RJD and Congress had hit a roadblock when both parties insisted on contesting certain seats, and Congress pushed for more seats to contest, leading to a situation where both parties announced candidates for some seats. Such friendly fights can lead to a division of opposition votes and benefit the BJP and JDU candidates. To resolve the crisis, Gehlot was rushed to Patna. Some seats, however, may still see friendly fights, as the deadline for withdrawing nominations for the first phase of polling has passed.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the RJD contested 144 seats and won 75, and Congress fought 70 and won just 19. This time, RJD has announced candidates for 143 seats and Congress has named its picks for 59.

Mukesh Sahani’s VIP may contest 15 seats, and 30 seats may go to CPIML, CPM and CPI. On several seats, two allies have announced candidates, but some of these disputes may settle after today’s show of unity.

Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh said, “This is not astonishing anymore. Lalu Yadav has very adamantly announced his son as the CM candidate. This is not a ‘gathbandhan’ but a ‘thugbandhan’ Nitish Kumar is the NDA’s CM face.”

BJP leader Keshav Prasad Maurya accused the Mahagathbandhan of wanting to drag Bihar back to the “dark era of Jungle Raj”. “Tejashwi Yadav’s announcements are nothing but empty rhetoric,” he said, calling the INDIA bloc a “Mahathugbandhan” and alleging that its leaders were “symbols of scams”.

Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad termed Yadav’s job promise “impractical”, saying, “He has promised to provide government jobs to 2.6 crore people, which would cost around Rs 12 lakh crore, while Bihar’s total budget is only Rs 3 lakh crore. From where will he provide jobs?”