Tejashwi Yadav Insists on CM Face for Bihar Polls, Congress and CPI-ML Differ

RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Saturday made it clear that the Grand Alliance (GA) will not enter the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections without projecting a chief ministerial face, increasing pressure on alliance partners.

“Are we the BJP which does not have any face? We will definitely not contest elections without projecting a CM face,” Tejashwi said during his Bihar Adhikar Yatra, which concluded in Vaishali.

The statement has brought tensions within the alliance into focus. While the RJD insists on Tejashwi’s leadership, the Congress has maintained that the people of Bihar will decide their chief minister after the elections due in October-November.

CPI-ML (Liberation) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya echoed the Congress line, stating that the Opposition bloc would contest without declaring a CM candidate. At the same time, he acknowledged Tejashwi as the “natural choice” for the post, though he insisted that a final decision would only be taken if the alliance wins.

At the national level, Tejashwi has already declared Rahul Gandhi as the INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate. However, Rahul himself has been non-committal on endorsing Tejashwi as the CM face in Bihar. “People of Bihar will decide the CM after the election,” said Krishna Allavaru, AICC in-charge of Bihar, adding to the ambiguity.

During his yatra, Tejashwi avoided repetitive slogans and instead focused on core issues such as unemployment, migration, price rise, corruption, poor law and order, and lack of industrialisation. The well-known slogans “Vote Chor Gaddi Chor” and electoral roll slogans from Rahul Gandhi’s Voter Adhikar Yatra appeared only in passing.

Analysts suggest that this shift in approach shows Tejashwi’s ambition to position himself as more than just a CM candidate. By putting issues at the forefront rather than just slogans, he may be aiming to broaden his appeal among Bihar’s voters beyond traditional RJD supporters.