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On the issue of the chief ministerial face for the Mahagathbandhan, while Congress leaders said the decision will be made later, RJD has repeatedly asserted that Tejashwi Yadav is their pick
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with LoP in the Lok Sabha and party leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav during a meeting, in New Delhi. (PTI)
The Congress and RJD, two key constituents of the Mahagathbandhan, met at the residence of the Grand Old Party’s chief Mallikarjun Kharge to chalk out a roadmap for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, including fixing a timeline for poll-related decisions.
Senior Congress sources revealed that in the meeting, which was also attended by Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, it was emphasised that decisions regarding ticket distribution, election campaigns, and coordination should be time-bound and ticket allocation should not be dragged until the fag-end of the election process.
After the nearly one-hour-long meeting, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said: “We held a meeting and very positive discussions took place. We will meet our alliance partners in Patna on the 17th. We are fully prepared. In their 20 years of governance, Bihar remains the poorest, with the lowest per capita income and the highest migration. We want to contest the election on crucial issues.”
When asked about the chief ministerial face, Tejashwi Yadav said: “Everything will come up after discussions.”
On the issue of the CM face for the Mahagathbandhan, several Congress leaders have recently said the decision will be made later. Congress leader Sachin Pilot, during a visit to Patna, too had said the decision would come post-election. In contrast, RJD has repeatedly asserted that Tejashwi Yadav is their CM face, hinting at dissonance between the parties on the issue.
RJD sources, post-meeting, revealed that in the upcoming assembly elections, not only ticket distribution but also candidate selection will be carefully considered to ensure the Mahagathbandhan maintains a social balance in specific regions and districts. In the last assembly election, Congress contested 70 seats but won only 19, recording the worst strike rate among the Mahagathbandhan constituents.
RJD leaders feel that Congress’s poor strike rate and incorrect candidate selection on several seats were the reasons the alliance fell short of a majority. Hence, for the upcoming elections, candidate selection will be done collaboratively to ensure that a poor choice in one seat does not negatively impact that seat and surrounding constituencies.
Ahead of this year’s Bihar assembly elections, Congress has made significant changes to its state organisation and intensified grassroots political activities. While Congress has clarified that it will contest the elections in alliance with RJD, party leaders have reiterated that the CM face will be decided later. Beyond the CM face, the division of seats, identification of constituencies, and selection of strong candidates are likely to be the key challenges in the alliance’s election discussions.
The next meeting of all Mahagathbandhan constituents will take place in Patna on April 17, where further strategies will be finalised.
