With less than 30 days to go for the Bihar Assembly elections, the opposition Mahagathbandhan, primarily led by Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress, continues to grapple with uncertainty over its chief ministerial candidate. The indecision has cast a shadow over the alliance ahead of the crucial vote.
Congress leader Udit Raj added fuel to the debate on Tuesday, saying that while Tejashwi Yadav may be the RJD’s chief ministerial pick, he has not yet been endorsed as the INDIA bloc’s CM face. The INDIA Bloc, a national anti-BJP alliance led by the Congress and including the RJD, will reportedly decide the chief ministerial candidate collectively.
Raj added, “He may be the chief ministerial face for the RJD but the INDIA Bloc’s chief ministerial face will be decided collectively. Look, any supporter of any party can do that but the INDIA Bloc’s candidate has not been decided. Let us see what the Congress HQ decides.”
VIDEO | On Bihar elections, Congress leader Udit Raj (@Dr_Uditraj) says, “Tejashwi Yadav may be CM face for RJD but INDIA bloc’s CM face will be decided collectively.”
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/6YZwdsWIK1
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 7, 2025
Neither the RJD nor Yadav has responded to Raj’s comments. Yadav, however, had said that the opposition would not contest without projecting a clear chief ministerial face.
Outside of the RJD-Congress alliance, Tejashwi Yadav is widely regarded as the most viable candidate to challenge Nitish Kumar. The son of Lalu Prasad Yadav and a two-time former Deputy Chief Minister, Tejashwi led the RJD to 75 seats in 2020, bolstering his credentials.
Despite this, the Congress has refrained from publicly endorsing Yadav, keeping the question open. Rahul Gandhi sidestepped the issue in August, stating that INDIA Bloc partners were “working without tension” and that the alliance would contest together. The BJP has cited this indecision as evidence of cracks within the opposition.
The 2025 Bihar elections, scheduled for November 6 and 11 with results on November 14, are critical for the Mahagathbandhan as it seeks to unseat Nitish Kumar and curb BJP influence. Sources indicate the Congress may eventually contest independently in some areas, while the RJD maintains Tejashwi Yadav as its CM candidate.
