Bihar election: Tejashwi Yadav to be Mahagathbandhan’s CM face? All eyes on key presser

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav

After weeks of intense deliberation, it appears that the Opposition's Grand alliance (Mahagathbandhan) has finally decided to project Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial face. Going by news reports and the images from the venue of the joint presser (due later today in Patna), the opposition bloc has reached a consensus on its CM pick.

If the announcement is made later today, the development will come a day after Yadav held a presser in Patna, to promise a slew of welfare schemes, including women-centric programmes, if voted to power. He said that all contractual workers in Bihar government departments and around 2 lakh 'community mobilisers' among 'Jeevika Didis' will be made permanent if the INDIA bloc comes to power in Bihar.

He also promised the 'community mobilisers' a monthly salary of Rs 30,000, and that interest on loans which 'Jeevika Didis' have taken will be waived if the opposition alliance forms the government in the state.

Speaking to the media from Patna, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said the Grand alliance in Bihar is fully “united” and “contesting the elections with strength” after the negotiations over the allocation of seat-sharing went down the line, with a few days left for the polling in the State.

In an attempt to settle the differences within the alliance in Bihar, which has failed to arrive at an acceptable seat-sharing arrangement for the Assembly elections, former Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot met RJD president Lalu Prasad in Patna on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain reacting to the news of an official announcement later today, said: “There are significant differences within the Mahagathbandhan... The NDA has an early lead... Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav have failed to resolve the differences within the Mahagathbandhan.”

The Mahagathbandhan opposition alliance has fielded 253 candidates for Bihar's 243 Assembly seats, exceeding the total by 10 amid ongoing seat-sharing disputes that forced parties to file unilaterally before Monday's nomination deadline. The move highlights deepening rifts within the coalition—comprising RJD, Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI, CPM, and VIP, particularly between RJD and Congress, as they scramble to withdraw excess filings before the October 27 cutoff for the first phase covering 121 seats.