With Assembly elections due in politically versatile state of Bihar, the stakeholder leaders and partners have started putting their weight as the ruling alliance member JD(U) asserted on Tuesday that Nitish Kumar will be the NDA’s chief ministerial face in the Bihar Assembly polls, former Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav met senior Congress leaders.
Yadav called on party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, to discuss the Mahagathbandhan’s preparedness for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls and exuded confidence that INDIA bloc government will be formed in the state. Yadav, along with RJD MPs Manoj Jha and Sanjay Yadav, met the Congress leadership at Kharge’s residence. He urged the media not to speculate over Mahagathbandhan’s (grand alliance) chief ministerial face and said the constituents would talk among themselves and decide.
The meeting comes amid indications that hard bargaining is on the cards among Mahagathbandhan allies, with all parties looking to strengthen their hold on the ground. The meeting also comes weeks after Congress firmed up its strategy for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls at a meeting. Last month, the Congress said it would contest the elections as part of the INDIA bloc and asserted that the alliance partners would take a “collective decision” on the chief ministerial face. The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan is looking to wrest power from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Assembly polls, which are due later this year.
“I don’t know why you all are worried about the CM face; we will talk among ourselves and decide. Things will become clear; you all should not worry about it,” the former Deputy Chief Minister said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Congress leaders, Yadav alleged that Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar has been “hijacked” by the BJP. “Nitish ji has been hijacked. Amit Shah has been saying that they will fight elections under his leadership but does not say he will become the CM,” Yadav said.
He said the Congress and the RJD will sit in Patna to finalise a strategy and asserted that the INDIA bloc is committed to taking Bihar on the path of progress.
“The government that has been there for 20 years in Bihar and PM Modi is at the helm for 11 years... Amid all this, Bihar has been given step-motherly treatment. Bihar is the most economically backward (state), with the lowest per capita income, lowest farmers’ income and highest migration. We all want to fight the elections on real issues,” Yadav said. “We are in the opposition. It is our responsibility to highlight the limitations of the government to the public,” he said. The RJD leader asserted that it is certain that there won’t be an NDA government in Bihar and an INDIA bloc government will be formed.
“Today we met the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav, and discussed the strength of the Mahagathbandhan. In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare option. Bihar will be freed from BJP and its opportunistic thug alliance,” Kharge said in a statement on social media.
Rahul Gandhi also shared pictures from the deliberations on his WhatsApp channel and called it an “important meeting”. Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar and AICC Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru were also present in the meeting. Asked if Tejashwi would be CM’s face, Kumar did not give a direct reply and said, “We will sit on different dates and discuss all the points”.
With the opposition seizing on Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini’s remarks to mount an attack on the BJP and its treatment of allies, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad shrugged off the Haryana leader’s comment and asserted that the ruling alliance faces no crisis over its chief ministerial face in Bihar. Saini had said at an event on Monday that the BJP’s victory march will continue in polls, and it will be achieved under Choudhary’s leadership in Bihar. “The Bihar elections will be held under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, and he will be the face of the National Democratic Alliance. CM Nitish Kumar will head the NDA government which is certain to be formed after the elections for a full term till 2030,” Prasad said.
He said senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken on similar lines in the past and took a swipe at the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming that it is going to unravel in Bihar as it has in many other states.
He noted that while RJD has declared Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial face, Congress leader Sachin Pilot had said recently that a decision on their alliance’s leader in Bihar will be taken after the elections, expected to be held later this year. He claimed that Yadav had returned empty-handed from his meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi. The NDA will notch up its biggest-ever win in the coming polls in Bihar, he said.
