How Cong veteran Gehlot’s Diwali call to RJD's Tejashwi ended standoff on CM face in Bihar
A festive call from Ashok Gehlot to Tejashwi Yadav cleared the air between Congress and RJD, paving the way for Tejashwi's declaration as CM face
Patna: Virtually ending the tussle within the INDIA bloc parties in Bihar for now, the opposition Mahagathbandhan declared Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial face for the upcoming assembly elections on Thursday. Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani was named as a deputy CM face, with others likely to be added on that list.
It was because the Congress party refused to endorse Tejashwi as the CM face, that the seat-sharing deal between the RJD and Congress was reportedly held back. Tejashwi is also the leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly.
Phone call by Cong veteran, meeting with Lalu
The ice broke after days of negotiations between the RJD and the Congress due to a phone call from former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot to Tejashwi Yadav on Diwali.
While exchanging festival greetings, Tejashwi invited Gehlot to meet his father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in Patna. Two days later, Gehlot landed in Patna and met Lalu Yadav, the veteran ex-union minister, and the family on October 22.
Gehlot is the All India Congress Committee (AICC) senior observer for the Bihar election and has also been given the responsibility to oversee 20 of the 61 seats that the Congress is contesting. The Congress won 19 seats in the 2020 Bihar elections.
A leader of the alliance stated that while Congress had been averse to making Tejashwi the CM face, the RJD had issues with the Mukesh Sahani's party being in the alliance, which became a bone of contention. Finally, the Congress agreed to make Tejashwi the CM face, provided Sahani is made the deputy CM face.
Sahani, whose party is contesting 11 seats in the alliance, is a prominent member of the Nishad, also referred to as the Mallaah community. Mallaah or Mallah is a broad OBC (Other Backwards Class) community traditionally associated with fishing, river work, and boatmanship in North India, especially in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and parts of eastern India.
Mukesh Sahani had initially demanded 60 seats and the deputy CM post but later reduced his demand to 30 seats. Tejashwi was not keen on Sahani's party, believing Mallah voters would support RJD regardless. But Rahul Gandhi, who has been championing backward community causes, wanted Sahani, also known as ‘Son of Mallah', to be a face of the alliance.
Projecting a united front, finally
Ashok Gehlot made the announcement about the CM and deputy CM's faces at Patna’s Hotel Maurya on October 23. The alliance leaders presented a united front, with RJD MP Manoj Jha requesting each member to speak about ‘ekta’ or unity.
Tejashwi Yadav and other leaders, including Mukesh Sahani, Bihar Congress- In-charge Krishna Allavaru, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Rajesh Ram, and representatives of the Left parties, were present during the press conference.
There has still been no official announcement of seat-sharing between the alliance partners.
However, RJD is contesting 143 of the 243 seats of Bihar, Congress is contesting 61 seats, CPI(ML)-L is contesting 20, and the remaining seats are likely to go to Mukesh Sahani's VIP, as per an informal arrangement.
Despite the show of unity, a group of disgruntled Congress leaders, including former MLAs, staged a protest for being denied tickets at Sadakant Ashram, the Bihar office of the Congress party, just a few miles away from Hotel Maurya where Tejashwi's announcement was made.
There are at least five seats where RJD and Congress candidates are currently in the fray against each other. And, on three others, the Congress is pitted against the CPI, a smaller alliance partner.
As Bihar ushers in the Chhath mood, Yadav is geared up to start a campaign trail. Tejashwi Yadav had openly declared Rahul Gandhi the INDIA bloc's prime ministerial candidate before this development — but that's for 2029.
