After months of uncertainty and prolonged seat-sharing talks, the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc on Thursday announced RJD leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, a move seen as a last-ditch effort to project unity and end internal squabbles ahead of the polls.
Announcing Yadav’s name, Congress leader and Bihar in-charge Ashok Gehlot also declared that Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni would be one of the two deputy chief ministers if the alliance came to power. “We have named our Chief Minister candidate. Now let the NDA tell us, who is theirs?” Gehlot challenged.
The announcement immediately stirred political reactions. The JD(U) mocked the I.N.D.I.A. bloc for not naming a Muslim Deputy Chief Minister, while a section of Congress leaders in Bihar demanded that one of the two deputy CM posts be given to a Muslim or Dalit leader, a proposal reportedly acceptable to other alliance partners.
Taking a swipe at the ruling NDA, Yadav said, “Nitish Kumar is facing injustice. There has been no announcement that he is the NDA’s CM face. We want to ask Amit Shah, you declared Nitish Kumar as the CM candidate before the polls, but now you are silent. Amit Shah has made it clear that this is Nitish Kumar’s last election.”
The BJP, in turn, called the Mahagathbandhan a “divided house,” questioning whether Yadav would even be able to become the Leader of the Opposition after the results. It claimed that Yadav and Sahni were chosen “out of compulsion” and not conviction.
Gehlot, who has been in Patna since Wednesday, said the decision to announce Yadav’s name had the approval of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi. Addressing a packed press conference, he said the alliance aimed to ensure representation of “all sections of Bihar’s complex social structure” by naming Mukesh Sahni and other community leaders as deputy chief ministers.
Thanking his allies for reposing faith in him, Tejashwi Yadav, 35, said, “It was never a big issue for us, but since there was so much media speculation, we decided to make it clear.”
Often referred to by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “crown prince of jungle raj,” Yadav directly addressed the criticism. “I want to tell the people of Bihar that Tejashwi will never compromise on corruption and will spare no one accused of wrongdoing, not even my own shadow,” he said.
He also accused the BJP of spreading propaganda by invoking “jungle raj,” claiming that Bihar continues to witness “murders and rapes daily under the NDA government” and that victims of sexual assault “die for want of timely medical help.”
Following the I.N.D.I.A. bloc’s official announcement, a joint campaign is set to begin immediately after the Chhath festival. Senior leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Mallikarjun Kharge will join Tejashwi Yadav on a state-wide campaign, while Sonia Gandhi and other I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders are expected to participate in joint rallies next week.
Meanwhile, Union home minister Amit Shah recently stated that the NDA would contest the elections “under the leadership” of Nitish Kumar, but added that “the legislators would decide” who would occupy the top post after the elections.
Taking a swipe at the Congress, the BJP alleged that the RJD had shown the grand old party its “aukat” (position) by featuring Tejashwi Yadav, not Rahul Gandhi, on posters at the joint press conference.
Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad mocked Yadav’s claim of “zero tolerance for corruption,” recalling the fodder scam cases against the RJD’s first family. “Tejashwi Yadav says they will have zero tolerance for corruption. The people of Bihar know that former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav has been convicted in the fodder scam and sentenced to 32.5 years in prison. Bihar has seen jungle raj before, and will never want it to return,” he said.
