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After days of negotiations, the Congress Thursday finally announced RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the chief minister face of the Mahagathbandhan. In addition, Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani was declared the alliance’s deputy chief minister face, with Congress leader Ashok Gehlot saying they could consider other names too as Deputy CMs after the polls.
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The Indian Express had reported that among the main issues holding up the seat-sharing deal between the RJD and Congress was the Congress’s refusal to endorse Tejashwi as the CM face before the polls.
The announcement regarding Tejashwi and Sahani was made by senior Congress leader Gehlot at a joint INDIA bloc press briefing showcasing “unity” between the allies in Bihar. In attendance were Gehlot, Tejashwi, Sahani, CPI (M-L) L’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, Congress state president Rajesh Ram, and Congress state in-charge Krishna Allavaru, among others.
(From left) VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, CPI (M-L) Liberation’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Cong leader Ashok Gehlot in Patna on Thursday. (Express photo by Rahul Sharma)
Sources told The Indian Express that Sahani agreed to attend the press conference only after he was assured that he would be projected as the alliance’s Deputy CM face. “Gehlot called Rahul Gandhi, who approved the proposal. Tejashwi and Bhattacharya also supported it,” said an Opposition leader.
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Making the announcement, Gehlot said: “Tejashwi is a young and dynamic leader. We believe he will fulfill our expectations… We are also declaring Mukesh Sahani, an EBC leader who has risen through struggle, as the deputy CM face of the alliance. Sahani is a messiah of his (Mallah) community. After we win the elections, some people from other sections of society could also be made Deputy CMs.”
What ensures a seat at the high table for Sahani is the Extremely Backward Class vote he brings to it. EBCs comprise a substantial 36% of Bihar’s population. The Nishads, or the boatmen community. form approximately 9.6% of the population, as per the 2023 caste survey, with the Mallah sub-caste to which Sahani belongs comprising 2.6% of the population.
The Nishads could be influential in Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, Madhubani, Khagaria, Vaishali and certain other North Bihar districts. Sahani’s party, VIP, had an overall vote share of 1.62% in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, winning four seats. In last year’s Lok Sabha polls, the VIP re-contested Purvi Champaran, Jhanjharpur and Gopalganj, with its overall vote share rising from 1.66% in 2019 to 2.71%.
There was no announcement of a seat-sharing deal at the press conference, however. Sources said the joint manifesto of the INDIA bloc would be made public on October 28.
With talks stuck and facing friendly fights in many seats with allies, the Congress had rushed Gehlot, its Bihar observer, to break the deadlock. On Wednesday, Gehlot called on Lalu Prasad and son Tejashwi at the RJD chief’s residence. Allavaru, who is being blamed by many in the party for the turmoil in the talks, was also present.
Addressing the press briefing, Tejashwi thanked his parents Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi and all top Mahagathbandhan leaders, particularly Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge for reposing faith in him. “I alone will not become CM but everyone from Bihar will become ‘Change Makers’ (CMs),” he said.
While the Mahagathbandhan had now named its CM face, Tejashwi added, why was the NDA not doing the same for JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar. “We have been saying from the beginning that the BJP will not make Nitish ji the CM in Bihar. Amit Shah ji has put a stamp on this multiple times. He has said that the elected MLAs will take a decision on this… You (the BJP) have always declared a CM face. We ask why this is not being done,” said Tejashwi.
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He added that leaders within the JD(U) were “working for the BJP” so as to “finish” the regional party. “This is Nitish ji’s last election, and Amit Shah has made this clear,” said Tejashwi.
Gehlot also targeted Shah, saying: “Where is your (the NDA’s) CM candidate? It doesn’t mean anything saying that Nitish Kumar will lead the NDA in the elections. (Shiv Sena) Eknath Shinde had led the NDA alliance in the Maharashtra elections, but someone else (BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis) became the CM later.”
Incidentally, the press conference created a stir due to the absence of photographs of INDIA bloc leaders barring Tejashwi from a banner at the venue.
BJP Bihar media in-charge Danish Iqbal took this up, posting on social media: “The ongoing infighting within the INDIA bloc is now out in the open… Earlier, Rahul Gandhi did not consider Tejashwi as the face (of the alliance). Now, Tejashwi has removed Rahul Gandhi from the posters. This poster itself is a declaration of the breakup of the Grand Alliance.”
Indirectly referring to the recent framing charges against him and other members of his family in a land for jobs case, Tejashwi said: “They (the NDA) are trying to break us by sending the ED and CBI after us. But we are not cowed.”
On the NDA associating Lalu rule with jungle raj, he said: “In the last 20 years (of Nitish as CM), about 70,000 people have been killed. The NDA government has not accounted to the CAG for Rs 70,000 crore in expenses.”
With a seat-sharing deal not yet out, Mahagathbandhan allies still face prospects of friendly fights in around a dozen seats. Earlier, as deadlines closed for filing nominations, the Congress, RJD, Left parties, the VIP and Indian Inclusive Party had unilaterally announced candidates, with the understanding being that some would withdraw as the deal was reached.
On Thursday, while asserting that everything would be sorted soon, Gehlot said 5-10 friendly fights didn’t matter in a total of 243 seats.
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