Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav was on Thursday (October 23, 2025) declared the chief ministerial face of the INDIA bloc for the Bihar Assembly elections.
The announcement was made in Patna by All India Congress Committee senior observer for Bihar Assembly polls Ashok Gehlot in the presence of Mr. Yadav and other leaders of the alliance.
Displaying unity after the initial hiccups over seat-sharing, the official announcement was made during a joint press meet in which Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani, Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Rajesh Ram and Left leaders were present.
Mr. Gehlot also announced Mr. Sahani as the deputy chief ministerial face of the alliance. He said the name of one more Deputy Chief Minister would be announced later.
“With the consensus of Congress president Mallikarjun Khage, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and all leaders present over here, we are declaring Tejashwi Yadav as the candidate for the Chief Minister position. Tejashwi Yadav ji has a long political journey, and we are confident that the public will shower him with immense love,” Mr. Gehlot said.
He added, “Along with this, we are also declaring a struggling young comrade Mukesh Sahani as the candidate for the Deputy Chief Minister position. We will announce the name of one more Deputy Chief Minister name later.”
Mr. Gehlot asked the BJP leadership to name its Chief Minister candidate and not to ignore the question by saying that the election is being contested under the leadership of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“Now, our question to Amit Shah ji is that we have already declared our Chief Minister, so you tell us who will be the face of the Chief Minister from the NDA?” Mr. Gehlot said.
Mr. Yadav thanked all the leaders of the INDIA bloc for showing trust in him saying he would live up to the trust.
“Together, we will uproot the corrupt ‘double engine’ government. Injustice is being done to Nitish Kumar ji in the NDA. He has not even been declared the face of the Chief Minister. The truth is that the BJP will not make Nitish Kumar ji the Chief Minister. Amit Shah has already confirmed that the elected legislators will select the Chief Minister. The question is — every time, the face of the Chief Minister has been declared, so why is such a statement being made this time?” Mr. Yadav asked.
‘New example’
Mr. Sahani, who is also known as ‘Son of Mallah’, expressed his happiness over the announcement. In a post on ‘X’, he said: “Thanks to all allies of the Mahagatbandhan for expressing confidence in a son from the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) for the Deputy Chief Minister position. This decision will set a new example for social justice and equal representation in Bihar.”
From day one, Mr. Sahani had made two demands, 60 seats and the post of Deputy Chief Minister if the INDIA bloc formed the government in Bihar. Though, his first demand was not fulfilled and offered 15 seats under the seat-sharing, the second demand finally got cleared.
With the announcement, the Congress also sent a larger message that it was the well-wisher of the EBC. As per the report of a caste-based survey, EBC is the largest block with over 36% of vote bank and its chunk is considered the voters of Mr. Kumar who have allowed him to remain in power for the past 20 years in Bihar.
Ever since the INDIA bloc was formed, repeated questions were being asked from the Congress leaders, including Mr. Gandhi whether Mr. Yadav is the Chief Minister face of the alliance or not.
Earlier, RJD chief Lalu Prasad umpteen times said his younger son Mr. Yadav, who served as Deputy Chief Minister for 17 months along with Mr. Kumar, would be the Chief Minister face but no Congress leaders were ready to come on record.
The big brother
Sources said the Congress had to listen to the RJD as being in the role of big brother in the alliance. Moreover, INDIA bloc candidates were contesting against each other in as many as 10 Assembly seats.
Soon after the joint press conference, two candidates of the alliance partners withdrew their nomination. In the Babubarhi Assembly seat, VIP candidate Bindu Gulab Yadav withdrew her nomination and left it for RJD candidate Arun Kumar Singh.
Similarly, Congress candidate Satish Kumar withdrew his candidature from the Warsaliganj Assembly seat making the way for RJD candidate Anita. More names are likely to be uploaded on the official website of the EC on the last day of nomination withdrawal.
Following the announcement, Mr. Tejashwi Yadav will start his election campaign from Friday using a helicopter to cover as many as Assembly constituencies. He will start the campaign from the Simri Bakhtiyarpur constituency in Darbhanga district followed by holding public meetings in Muzaffarpur and Vaishali district
Published – October 23, 2025 12:53 pm IST