NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday huddled with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to finalise a seat-sharing formula and strategise ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly elections scheduled for the end of the year.
Following the meeting, Tejashwi said that another round of discussions would take place between the two parties in Patna.
“Congress and RJD will sit in Patna to make the strategy. We are committed to taking Bihar on the path of progress,” Tejashwi said.
“The government has been in place for 20 years in Bihar, with PM Modi at the helm for 11 years. Despite all this, Bihar remains the most economically backward state, with the lowest per capita income, lowest farmers' income, and the highest migration,” he added.
Tejashwi, however, steered clear of questions about the chief ministerial face in Bihar and said, “I don't know why you all are worried about the CM face — we will decide. What’s certain is that there won’t be an NDA government in Bihar.”
“We all want to fight the election on issues. We are in the opposition — it is our responsibility to highlight the shortcomings of the government to the public,” he added.
Earlier, speaking about the meeting, RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha told ANI, “This is a formal meeting. If we look at the Congress party's allies, RJD is the oldest ally as of now. In this formal meeting, the entire scenario will be discussed.”
Emphasising that the “entire context” of Bihar would be discussed, Jha added, “This meeting has been scheduled keeping in view the broader context of Bihar, and since the elections are now about 6-8 months away, all relevant matters will be discussed.”
The Congress has maintained that it is not a "B-team" of any party and that the chief ministerial candidate for the opposition alliance will be decided only after the election. However, the RJD continues to project Tejashwi as the Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial face.
In a social medi post on X, Kharge said, "This time, change is certain in Bihar. Today we met the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Mr Tejashwi Yadav and discussed the strengthening of the Grand Alliance. In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from BJP and its opportunistic alliance."
"Youth, farmers-labourers, women, backward, extremely backward and people of all other sections of the society want the Grand Alliance government," he added.
After AICC in-charge for Bihar, Krishna Allvaru, said that a collective decision would be taken on the CM face, senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot echoed the view during his recent visit to Patna for Kanhaiya Kumar's ‘Palayan Roko, Naukri Do’ rally. “Everything will be decided after the victory in the assembly election,” Pilot said.
A high-stakes battle is expected in Bihar, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) — consisting of the Janata Dal (United) led by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, and the Bharatiya Janata Party — facing off against the Mahagathbandhan, which includes the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Left parties.