Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the Grand Alliance will not contest the upcoming Bihar assembly election without a Chief Ministerial candidate at the forefront while taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“Are we the BJP that we do not have any faces? We definitely will not contest the elections without projecting a Chief Ministerial face,” Yadav told NDTV in an exclusive interview on Friday. He made his remarks while traveling on the supplementary Adhikar Yatra, covering regions missed during the main Opposition march two weeks ago.
Yadav has consistently pushed for Congress’s Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial face of the Opposition INDIA bloc. Although some leaders voiced concerns, Gandhi has not publicly reciprocated by endorsing Yadav as the Chief Ministerial pick for Bihar.
Addressing this, Yadav said: “Wait a little bit. It is the people who would decide on the Chief Minister. But having a Chief Minister or a government is not the main thing. We have to build Bihar. It makes no difference if there is a delay of five or 10 days.”
Yadav Hints At Ambitions To Be Named CM Face
The RJD leader further emphasised that once seat-sharing discussions conclude, the alliance will settle the leadership question, but underlined again that the coalition will not head to the polls without naming a Chief Ministerial face.
Yadav dropped prominent hints about his own ambitions on August 31, the penultimate day of the opposition yatra.
Speaking at a rally in Ara, he declared, “This is a copycat government. We need an original CM, not a duplicate one,” taking direct aim at Kumar. Turning to the crowd, he prodded, “Is it not a copycat government? Isn’t it copying me? Tejashwi is ahead; the government is behind. Do you want a duplicate CM or an original CM?”
Within the alliance, the Congress appears unlikely to oppose Yadav’s emergence as the coalition’s leader in Bihar, while Rahul Gandhi has not yet directly spoken on the topic.
“All INDIA bloc partners are working together in a spirit of mutual respect, without any tension. We will contest the polls together and the results will be good,” Gandhi remarked with Yadav by his side, signalling unity among the opposition even as the final call on leadership awaits conclusion.
