Tejashwi Yadav Nominated as Chief Minister Candidate for Bihar Elections

Announcement of Chief Minister Candidate

Ashok Gehlot has officially announced that Tejashwi Yadav will be the Chief Minister candidate for the Mahagathbandhan in the upcoming Bihar elections. The former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and leader of the RJD, Tejashwi Yadav, has been selected ahead of the state assembly elections. Additionally, Mukesh Sahni, the leader of the VIP party, has been named as the candidate for the Deputy Chief Minister position. This announcement was made during a press conference held in Patna on Thursday, October 23.

Gehlot Questions Opposition

During the press conference, Gehlot raised questions regarding the opposition's Chief Ministerial face, asking, "We want to know from Amit Shah and his party who their candidate for Chief Minister is? This is our demand, as we witnessed the elections being fought under the leadership of former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, only to find out later that someone else was chosen as Chief Minister."

Support for Tejashwi's Leadership

At the joint press conference held at Hotel Maurya, Gehlot confirmed, "We have decided to contest the elections with Tejashwi Yadav as our Chief Minister candidate." He also announced that Mukesh Sahni from the Vikassheel Insaan Party would be the candidate for Deputy Chief Minister. All seven parties in the Mahagathbandhan, including Congress and leftist parties, have agreed to support Tejashwi's leadership for the two-phase elections.

Unity Amidst Tensions

Despite ongoing disputes regarding seat sharing within the alliance, the top leaders of the Mahagathbandhan displayed unity during the press conference. In a final effort to resolve the crisis, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, arrived in Patna on October 22 to mediate among the alliance partners. Gehlot also met with RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav to ease tensions between major parties like RJD and Congress.

Election Timeline

This development comes just before the last day for withdrawing nominations for the second phase of elections scheduled for October 11. The first phase will take place on October 6, with vote counting set for October 14. Tejashwi has also questioned the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) about the absence of a joint conference among parties like BJP and JD(U) as the elections approach.

Tejashwi Responds to 'Jungle Raj' Allegations

In response to allegations of 'Jungle Raj' from the ruling coalition, Tejashwi stated, "I want to assure the people that I will not compromise on corruption and law and order. I also want to inform all parties in the Mahagathbandhan that we will create a new Bihar."