PATNA: Congress leader and party’s Bihar co-incharge Shahnawaz Alam on Wednesday created a flutter by declaring Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as the chief ministerial face of the grand alliance that would contest the upcoming assembly elections.
Alam’s statement came on the day the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was in the state capital to attend the birth anniversary of a Dalit freedom fighter and former minister Jaglal Choudhary. His announcement to contest Tejashwi as the CM candidate came just hours after RJD chief Lalu Prasad declared in Nalanda that Tejashwi would be the next chief minister.
Speaking to reporters, Alam said that the grand alliance remained intact in Bihar and would contest the upcoming assembly elections with full vigour. He asserted that the NDA government would not return to power, claiming that the people had made up their minds to unseat the ruling dispensation.
Reacting to the Congress leader's remarks, RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari said Tejashwi Yadav had won the confidence of Bihar’s nearly 14 crore people during his 17-month tenure as deputy chief minister in the grand alliance government. “His work in a short span speaks volumes,” Tiwari added.
In response to a media query, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said that Congress had to accept Tejashwi’s leadership in Bihar, adding the alliance performed well in the 2020 assembly election under his leadership.
He also tried to corner the ruling NDA by saying, “Will BJP declare Nitish Kumar as next chief minister of Bihar? The party will not accept him as chief minister after the assembly polls,” Tiwari said, adding that the BJP was hatching a conspiracy against Nitish to weaken him and his party.