PATNA: Scotching all speculations over his plan for the next Bihar Assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday made it clear that the 2025 polls would be contested under the leadership of RJD leader and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav.
Nitish made the statement while speaking at the grand alliance’s legislature party meeting convened in view of the ongoing winter session of Parliament. The meeting was attended by MLAs and MLCs from the grand alliance, comprising RJD, JD(U), Congress, Left parties and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular).
“I am neither a PM candidate, nor a CM candidate. My objective is to defeat BJP in 2024,” Nitish said in the meeting, according to leaders present at the venue. “We have decided to bring Tejashwi at the forefront for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, which will be contested under his leadership,” he added.
“Most parties want to overthrow the BJP from power in 2024 and I am trying to bring all of them on a single platform.”
Nitish’s statement gives credence to the speculation that he is making up his mind to move to national politics and elevate the RJD leader as the CM. Earlier too, addressing the inaugural ceremony of a dental college in Nalanda, Nitish had told residents of his hometown not to worry about the development works as Tejashwi would take them forward.
“We have done so much for Nalanda and whatever more needs to be done, Tejashwi will do it. People of Nalanda will not face any difficulty. Many people will try to create differences between us, but I appeal to all of you not to be misguided. We have to move ahead unitedly,” Nitish had said.
Tejashwi, too, has not minced words in heaping praise on the JD(U) leader, and made statements that strengthen the speculation of Nitish moving to national politics. “The political battle will be seen between Nagpur (RSS headquarters) and Nalanda (Nitish’s home district) in the future,” Tejashwi had said.