Bihar elections: INDIA bloc names Tejaswi Yadav as CM candidate, Mukesh Sahni to be deputy
The move to project Tejashwi Yadav as the Chief Ministerial candidate is being viewed as a major advantage for the Mahagathbandhan alliance, particularly in attracting youth and backward caste voters.
PTC News Desk: After weeks of intense deliberation, the Mahagathbandhan has announced RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav as chief ministerial candidate during a press conference that opposition turned into a show of strength. Meanwhile Mukesh Sahni has been named as deputy CM if the alliance comes to power.
"After discussions with all senior leaders, we have decided that Tejashwi Yadav will be the CM face of Mahagathbandhan in the upcoming Bihar polls. He has a long future ahead," senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said.
Tejashwi Yadav, while addressing the press conference, thanked everyone for making him the CM face and attacked the NDA for "using" CM Nitish Kumar. "Amit Shah is using a different language than he did in the last polls. This time, he is saying that the MLAs would elect the CM. I am worried as a fellow Bihari," he said, accusing the Nitish Government of rampant corruption and anarchy.
"A large number of scandals took place but no action was taken.”
He said the NDA had not released any manifesto. "It is only stealing my announcements on old age pension, women empowerment, fee power, etc. They have no vision of their own. When I was in power, we did a caste survey and increased reservation to 65 per cent. But the anti-backward government at the Centre did not include it in Schedule 9 of the Constitution,” he alleged.
The move to project Tejashwi Yadav as the Chief Ministerial candidate is being viewed as a major advantage for the Mahagathbandhan alliance, particularly in attracting youth and backward caste voters. However, discontent surfaced within the Congress after Rahul Gandhi’s absence from the alliance’s campaign poster, which featured only Tejashwi Yadav’s image. Independent MP Pappu Yadav remarked, “People will vote in Rahul Gandhi’s name and no one else’s.”
The issue of seat-sharing, meanwhile, continues to be unresolved, with at least 11 Assembly constituencies expected to see contests between Mahagathbandhan allies.
Gehlot took a swipe at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for not declaring its Chief Ministerial candidate, citing Maharashtra as an example where Eknath Shinde was initially projected as the CM face before being replaced later. He also accused the Election Commission of being “biased.”