We will make Rahul Gandhi next Prime Minister of India: Tejashwi Yadav

File

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav urged people to make his Congress ally Rahul Gandhi the next prime minister of the country in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Yadav, who was addressing a rally in Nawada during Congress's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', sang praises for Rahul Gandhi and described him as a leader who has given sleepless nights to PM Modi.

“In the upcoming assembly polls, we shall root out the NDA, which has been running a government comparable to a rickety old car (‘khatara’) for the last 20 years. And, in the next Lok Sabha polls, we shall make Rahul Gandhi the prime minister,” Yadav said, evoking cheers from the crowd.

Though the Congress has never official projected Rahul as its PM candidate, the Rae Bareli MP has been the face of the grand old party's campaign in both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In 2024 too, he spearheaded the party's campaign even though Congress contested as part of the broader opposition bloc 'INDIA'.

Donning a baseball cap and T-shirt with a gamcha draped around his neck, Tejashwi Yadav sought to project a blend of tradition and modernity as he hit the campaign trail.

“We have a vision for a new Bihar,” declared the former deputy chief minister, addressing the crowd with a hand-held mic from atop an open vehicle alongside Rahul Gandhi, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Vikassheel Insan Party chief Mukesh Sahni and state Congress president Rajesh Kumar.

Taking sharp aim at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly said, “The CM is not in his senses. He is not able to run Bihar. His government has become a copycat. I had promised free power, domicile policy, hike in social security pensions and setting up of a Youth Commission. The state government presented these as newly devised schemes. It has remained oblivious to the state’s crying need for better education, health, employment, irrigation facilities and accountability.”

Turning his fire on the BJP, Yadav alleged, “They have colluded with the Election Commission to deprive the people of Bihar of their right to vote.”

Assembly elections are due in Bihar in October-November this year.

(With inputs from PTI)