‘Naturally, it was Tejashwi’s name’: Gehlot on Bihar CM face as BJP attacks job promise

Patna: As the Bihar Assembly elections near, Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the Mahagathbandhan’s Chief Ministerial candidate, saying it was a collective decision supported by Rahul Gandhi and other top Congress figures.

“Naturally, it was going to be Tejashwi’s name. Rahul Gandhi and everyone else had his name in mind,” Gehlot said in Patna.

Tejashwi thanked the alliance partners for their trust and vowed to “throw out the useless 20-year-old double-engine government” led by the NDA. He also claimed that his alliance had shown greater unity than the NDA, which has yet to name its CM face.

However, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad criticised Tejashwi’s campaign promises as “unrealistic” and accused him of trying to take credit for the Jeevika Didi scheme, which he said was “a brainchild of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar”.

Mukesh Sahani of the Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) has been announced as the Mahagathbandhan’s Deputy CM nominee. The assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results on November 14.

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Thursday confirmed that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav would lead the Mahagathbandhan as its Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

Speaking in Patna, Gehlot said, “After consulting Kharge ji, Rahul ji, and others, we decided that Tejashwi Yadav will be the CM candidate. He is young, has a long future, and the public will support him.”

Tejashwi Yadav expressed gratitude to alliance partners, saying their unity is aimed at rebuilding Bihar. “We are together not just to form a government, but to make Bihar. We will throw out the useless 20-year-old double-engine government where one engine is corrupt and the other criminal,” he said.

He criticised the NDA for failing to announce its CM face, claiming that the BJP had already decided Nitish Kumar would not return as Chief Minister. “Amit Shah has stamped it by saying that the MLAs’ strength will decide the CM. JD(U) will cease to exist after the elections,” he added.

Yadav promised rapid progress if elected, asserting, “If the people of Bihar give us 20 months, we will do what they couldn’t in 20 years. No family will be without a government job.”

In response, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad called Tejashwi’s job pledge unrealistic and accused him of trying to take credit for welfare schemes initiated under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. “Tejashwi is making unrealistic claims to take credit for the Jeevika Didi scheme, a brainchild of Nitish Kumar,” Prasad said.

The Mahagathbandhan coalition comprises RJD, Congress, CPI, CPM, CPI-ML, and VIP. On the other hand, the NDA includes BJP, JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj has also announced plans to contest all 243 seats.

The Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with counting on November 14.

(With PTI inputs)