Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 23: Following much anticipation and multiple rounds of negotiation to resolve issues over seat sharing, the opposition “Mahagathbandhan” on Thursday named the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial of the grand alliance for the high-voltage state Assembly elections in Bihar.
Mr Mukesh Sahani, the chief of another alliance partner Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) was named the deputy chief ministerial face of the Mahagathbandhan with the senior Congress leader and the former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who played a crucial role in resolving the stalemate in the opposition alliance, stating that another deputy chief minister would be named at an appropriate time.
After weeks of tussle within the Opposition bloc over seat-sharing, the announcement was made in Patna by All India Congress Committee (AICC) senior observer for Bihar polls, Mr Gehlot, in the presence of Mr Yadav and other leaders of the alliance on Thursday. The announcement came a day after Mr Gehlot flew down to Patna and met RJD president Lalu Prasad.
Notably, while there are five seats where candidates of both RJD and Congress are in the fray, in three others, the grand old party is pitted against a smaller alliance partner, the CPI. Mr Gehlot, on landing in Patna, spoke to reporters claiming that “a friendly fight in five or 10 seats was no big deal.”
Soon after the announcements, the BJP strongly criticised the Mahagathbandhan claiming that the Assembly election in Bihar would be a fight between ‘Vikaas’ (development) of the NDA and ‘Vinaash’ (destruction) of the INDIA bloc.
Mr Gehlot said the Mahagathbandhan had chosen Tejashwi Yadav as its Chief Ministerial face because he was “young” and “committed.” He then threw a dare to the BJP. “I want to ask Amit Shah… our leader is Tejashwi Yadav. Now they should confirm who is their (NDA) Chief Minister face.” The veteran leader said Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, wanted Tejashwi Yadav to be the opposition’s Chief Ministerial face.
Addressing the press meet, Tejashwi thanked all alliance partners and said the Mahagathbandhan would work together to rebuild Bihar. Taking a swipe at NDA, he said, “Nitish Kumar is facing injustice. There has been no announcement that Nitish Kumar is the NDA’s Chief Ministerial face. We want to ask Amit Shah, you declared Nitish Kumar as the Chief Ministerial face before every election, why not this time? This is Nitish Kumar’s last election. Amit Shah has made it clear.”
Thursday’s press conference was the Mahagathbandhan’s show of unity after weeks of friction over seat-sharing. The Congress had so far refrained from endorsing Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance’s Chief Ministerial face, using this as a bargaining chip for a good seat deal.
Seat-sharing negotiations between the RJD and Congress had hit a roadblock when both parties insisted on contesting certain seats, and the Congress pushed for more seats to contest. This led to a situation in which both parties announced candidates for some seats. Such friendly fights can lead to a division of opposition votes and benefit the BJP and JDU candidates. To tackle the crisis, Gehlot was rushed to Patna. Some seats, however, may still see friendly fights as the deadline for withdrawing nominations for the first phase of polling has passed.
In the 2020 Assembly polls, the RJD contested 144 seats and won 75, and Congress fought 70 and won just 19. This time, RJD has announced candidates for 143 seats and Congress has named its picks for 59. Mukesh Sahani’s VIP may contest on 15 and 30 seats may go to CPIML, CPM and CPI. On several seats, two allies have announced candidates, but some of these disputes may settle after today’s show of unity. Today is the last date for withdrawing nominations to the second phase of polling on November 11, and several candidates may withdraw nominations after the alliance partners reach an agreement on some seats.
The NDA, he said, had not placed any agenda before the people and had only copied his poll promises. He also flagged the law and order situation in Bihar and claimed that every day, at least 200 bullets are fired in the state. Countering the NDA’s “jungleraj” barb, he said, “I want to tell the people of Bihar. Tejashwi will never compromise on corruption and law and order. Even if Tejashwi’s shadow commits a crime, punishment will follow.”
Launching a sharp counter-attack on the Mahagathbandhan, the BJP said Nitish Kumar left the alliance due to RJD’s corruption. “He (Tejashwi) vowed zero tolerance on corruption. Lalu Yadav has been convicted in four cases in the fodder scam. Tejashwi Yadav, you are an accused in an IPC 420 case. Your claim that you will not tolerate corruption needs to be countered,” BJP veteran Ravi Shankar Prasad told the media.