The Chief Ministerial and Deputy Chief Ministerial faces have been announced in the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), with Tejashwi Yadav being chosen as the Chief Ministerial candidate. Tejashwi Yadav has now become active in election campaigning and is continuously addressing public meetings.
Patna: In the second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, there are four seats where candidates from the Mahagathbandhan's (Grand Alliance) two main constituents, RJD and Congress, are pitted against each other. This situation has raised a new question in political circles: for whom will Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav campaign on these seats? Leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are alleging that Mahagathbandhan leaders are engaged in internal electoral clashes.
Meanwhile, the Mahagathbandhan claims that the alliance is fully united and cooperative. In Bihar, the Mahagathbandhan has declared its Chief Ministerial face, with Tejashwi Yadav named as the CM candidate. Tejashwi commenced his election campaign on October 24 and is garnering support through public meetings across the state.
Seats with 'Friendly Fights'
The four assembly seats where RJD and Congress candidates are contesting against each other are as follows:
- Sultanganj Assembly Seat: RJD's Chandan Sinha and Congress's Lalan Yadav are pitted against each other. The NDA has fielded JDU's Lalit Narayan Mandal.
- Kahalgaon Assembly Seat: RJD's Rajnish Bharti and Congress's Praveen Kushwaha. The NDA has given a ticket to JDU's Shubhanand Mukesh.
- Sikandra Assembly Seat: RJD's Udaynarayan Chaudhary versus Congress's Vinod Chaudhary, while the NDA candidate is HAM's Prafful Manjhi.
- Narkatiaganj Assembly Seat: RJD's Deepak Yadav and Congress's Shashwat Kedar Pandey, NDA candidate BJP's Sanjay Pandey.
Additionally, on two other seats, RJD-VIP and Congress-CPI are also contesting against each other, where internal competition may be seen.
Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav's Campaign Strategy
Political experts state that senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, will become active in election campaigning after the Chhath festival. Tejashwi Yadav has already launched an intensive campaign across the state, but so far, he has not visited the seats designated for 'friendly fights'. Sources suggest that Rahul and Tejashwi would prefer to avoid actively campaigning on these seats, as active campaigning for either side could expose differences within the alliance.
Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot stated that the Mahagathbandhan is contesting the elections unitedly. He said, "There are a total of 243 seats in Bihar. On five to six seats, there might be a 'friendly fight' with mutual consent. We will campaign together and win the elections. The ruling party is spreading rumors; do not pay attention to them." The Mahagathbandhan has announced Tejashwi Yadav as its CM face, while the NDA has not yet declared its CM face. Gehlot alleged that the BJP does not want to make Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister, which has further escalated the political deadlock.
