Patna, 23 Oct

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 Vikassheel Insan 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.