Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday avoided giving a direct answer when asked about the chief ministerial face for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, slated for later this year.
What did Tejashwi Yadav say about the CM’s face?
Speaking after a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to discuss seat-sharing and election strategy, Tejashwi said, “I don’t know why you all are so worried about the CM face — we will decide.”
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Moreover, slamming the Bihar Chief Minister, Yadav said, “We will discuss and unanimously decide the CM face. ‘Nitish Ji to hijack ho chuke hain‘. NDA is not forming the government in Bihar this time.”
In a post on X, Kharge posted a video of meeting Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and others in New Delhi to begin preparations for the Bihar Assembly polls, scheduled to be held later this year.
“This time, change is certain in Bihar. Today, we met the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav and discussed the strengthening of the Mahagathbandhan. In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from the BJP and its opportunistic alliance,” Kharge said.
“Youth, farmers-labourers, women, backwards, extremely backward and people of all other sections of the society want the Mahagathbandhan government,” the Congress President said, according to an ANI report.
How BJP reacted to the Tejashwi-Rahul meeting?
Calling the Congress-RJD ‘mismatch’ alliance, Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal said, “Their agenda is to reduce each other’s stature. RJD will never want Congress to increase its base again in Bihar, and Congress wants to remain bigger than RJD in Bihar. It is a game of hide-and-seek between the two. This is a mismatched alliance.”
Jaiswal was referring to the meeting between Tejashwi Yadav, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge.
Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary said, “There is no challenge. Even if the entire UPA, the entire INDI alliance fights, Nitish Kumar will remain the Chief Minister of Bihar…”
The meeting between Tejashwi Yadav, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday comes just weeks after the Congress outlined its strategy for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections during a key meeting in Delhi.
Last month, Congress reaffirmed its commitment to contesting the polls as part of the INDIA bloc. The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, which includes the Congress, is aiming to unseat the NDA and regain power in Bihar in the elections scheduled for later this year.
Earlier, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar brought the issue of migration in Bihar into sharp focus through his ‘Naukri Do’ rally, urging the state government to address the ongoing exodus and prioritize job creation for the youth.
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This time, change is certain in Bihar.
I don’t know why you all are so worried about the CM face — we will decide.
The campaign, which highlights the lack of employment opportunities as a key concern in the state, received a major boost when Rahul Gandhi joined Kanhaiya in Begusarai on April 7 to support the cause and connect with local voters ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
(With inputs from agencies)
