Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, addressing a press conference attended by all coalition partners, said the decision was backed by Congress de facto leader Rahul Gandhi and national president Mallikarjun Kharge
Tejashwi Yadav. Pic/PTI
The opposition INDIA bloc on Thursday declared RJD leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar elections 2025, scheduled to be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, reported news agency ANI.
Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, addressing a press conference attended by all coalition partners, said the decision was backed by Congress de facto leader Rahul Gandhi and national president Mallikarjun Kharge. “Tejashwi Yadav is young, has a long future, and the public will support him,” Gehlot said.
Gehlot, appointed Senior Election Observer by the AICC, said Bihar’s electorate seeks change amid challenges such as unemployment and alleged threats to democracy under the NDA government. “The situation is serious. Polarisation is rampant, and dissent is being stifled,” he added, reported ANI.
The press conference was attended by prominent Mahagathbandhan leaders, including CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram, Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, and VIP convenor Mukesh Sahani. Sahani, whose Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) is part of the Mahagathbandhan, was named the Deputy CM nominee.
“I have awaited this moment for 3.5 years. Standing united with the Mahagathbandhan, we will form our government in Bihar and oust the BJP,” Sahani said, reported ANI.
Bhattacharya added, “This election is for the youth, farmers, women, and the poor. Bihar is ready, and the Mahagathbandhan will fight unitedly to win.”
The main contest in the Bihar elections 2025 will be between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)—comprising BJP, JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM (Sec), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha—and the Mahagathbandhan, led by RJD and including Congress, CPI(ML), CPI, CPM, and VIP. Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj has also staked claims on all 243 assembly seats.
The election results will be declared on November 14.
The Mahagathbandhan, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), comprises the Congress party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML) led by Dipankar Bhattacharya, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP).
The NDA alliance includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)], Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP-RV), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).
(With inputs from ANI)
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