Bihar polls: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav declared as CM candidate of Grand Alliance
Congress leader Ashok Gehlot makes announcement at a joint press conference in Patna
The opposition INDIA bloc on Thursday declared RJD leader and former deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar Assembly elections.
Announcing the decusion at a press conference, which was attended by all coalition partners, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot asserted that the decision was backed by Rahul Gandhi and national president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Gehlot also said Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni would be one of the deputy chief ministers if the INDIA bloc forms the government, along with "another leader from the backward classes" who would occupy the same post.
‘No rift in alliance,’ asserts Cong
Earlier, amid rumours of a rift in the alliance, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday (October 22) asserted that there are “friendly fights”, as it happens in all states, and that the “Mahagathbandhan remains firm against the BJP and the JD(U).”
Gehlot was sent to Patna on Wednesday to meet RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi in an apparent attempt by the Congress to cajole its alliance partner.
Missing photos
Interestingly, despite the Congress's assertion of unity in the alliance, the photographs of top INDIA Bloc leaders were missing from a banner at the venue of the press conference in Patna. The banner, the image of which has gone viral on social media, carried only a large photograph of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
Read The Federal’s election stories from Bihar
Bihar polls: Simmering discontent within NDA as leaders hit campaign trail
How Nitish Kumar and past regimes let Bihar down economically Is the Grand Alliance losing momentum ahead of Bihar election?
Why NDA fielded only 5 Muslim faces in Bihar elections
Ground report: Prashant Kishor, a 'stranger' in his ancestral village
Grand Alliance battles chaos and crumbling unity ahead of Bihar polls
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Live Updates
- 23 Oct 2025 3:51 PM IST
Mahagathbandhan named Tejashwi as CM face at right time, BJP-NDA still silent: Bhupesh Baghel
Senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel says, "Right decision at the right time. People were speculating about the CM face of Mahagathbandhan. Today, it has become completely clear who the face is. But who is the face of BJP-NDA? Nitish Kumar has been the CM for 20 years now but NDA's face has still not been announced...What can be more unfortunate than this?..."
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No friendly fight: Chirag Paswan's dig at Grand Alliance over RJD-Congress seat overlap
Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Monday (October 20) took a dig at the Grand Alliance ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections with regard to overlapping seats that featured in both RJD’s and Congress’ candidate list. Chirag said that there is no such thing as a “friendly fight” adding that the Mahagathbandhan has virtually given a walkover to the NDA even on seats that seemed to be challenging to the ruling coalition in Bihar.
- 23 Oct 2025 3:47 PM IST
Tejashwi assures permanent status for contract workers if INDIA Bloc wins Bihar polls
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday (October 22) announced that all contractual workers engaged in various Bihar government departments and around 2 lakh ‘community mobilisers’ among 'Jeevika Didis' will be made permanent if the INDIA bloc comes to power in the state.
- 23 Oct 2025 3:46 PM IST
How Nitish Kumar and past regimes let Bihar down economically
Bihar is in the low-income trap despite a decent growth rate averaging 5.5 per cent (national average 6.1 per cent) during FY13-FY24, and this has as much to do with leadership failures as with historical factors. Among the historical factors is its bifurcation in November 2000, when Jharkhand was carved out. With the new state went Bihar's mineral wealth, industrial towns and economically flourishing cities. This factor needs special mention, though even after 53 years of Independence, those minerals, industrial towns and cities couldn’t change Bihar’s fortunes.
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Two young leaders are making waves in Bihar ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections. BJP’s folk singer Maithili Thakur, dubbed “Bihar’s daughter,” is contesting from Alinagar, bringing her cultural roots and clean image to counter controversies in a historically RJD-dominated constituency. Meanwhile, CPI(ML)’s Divya Gautam, a former student leader and cousin of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, is stepping into Patna’s Digha with a focus on youth issues, activism, and local credibility. Both candidates symbolize a strategic shift in Bihar politics — prioritizing youth, culture, and grassroots connection to energize voters and redefine the political landscape.
- 23 Oct 2025 3:41 PM IST
Is the Grand Alliance losing momentum ahead of Bihar election?
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- 23 Oct 2025 3:38 PM IST
INDIA bloc names Tejashwi; NDA’s CM pick next?
Former Bihar deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has been declared the Mahagathbandhan’s CM face for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls. The announcement was made by senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot during the INDIA bloc’s joint press conference in Patna. Gehlot, rushed by the Congress high command to calm tensions within the alliance, met RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi at their residence amid reports of seat-sharing friction. As AICC’s Senior Election Observer, Gehlot asserted that the INDIA bloc stands “fully united”. Now, all eyes are on the NDA — who will be their CM face?
- 23 Oct 2025 3:33 PM IST
Missing pics of INDIA bloc leaders from Mahagathbandhan banner triggers row
The photographs of top INDIA bloc leaders were missing from a banner at the venue of the much-awaited joint press conference of the Mahagathbandhan in Patna on Thursday (October 23), triggering a controversy.
The banner, the image of which has gone viral on social media, carried only a large photograph of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
However, commenting on the poster controversy, BJP's state media in-charge, Danish Iqbal, in a social media post, wrote, "The ongoing infighting within the INDIA bloc is now out in the open... Earlier, Rahul Gandhi did not consider Tejashwi as the face (of the alliance). Now, Tejashwi has removed Rahul Gandhi from the posters. This poster itself is a declaration of the breakup of the Grand Alliance."
- 23 Oct 2025 3:31 PM IST
Bihar polls: Simmering discontent within NDA as leaders hit campaign trail
Chief minister Nitish Kumar, who launched the JD-U’s campaign with a rally in Muzaffarpur on Tuesday (October 21), has flatly refused to campaign in any of the 29 constituencies where Union minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party-Ramvilas has fielded candidates. Nitish, it is learnt, is also “not open to sharing the stage with Chirag” at any joint NDA rally that the BJP leadership in Delhi may plan to conduct in Bihar to show the coalition’s united strength.
- 23 Oct 2025 3:28 PM IST
Tejashwi Yadav booked under IPC 420, faces 7 years in jail: Ravi Shankar Prasad
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad says, "Now, when we come to Tejashwi Yadav, two orders have been issued by the Delhi High Court...The court examined all the matters and declared that this (IRCTC hotels corruption case) is a serious case of corruption and 420... Tejashwi Yadav, you are accused under Section 420 of the IPC. The sentence is seven years. Your claim that you won't tolerate corruption needs to be addressed... The people of Bihar, be careful. These 2.60 crores households of Bihar, to whom they are talking about giving permanent jobs, their (RJD) background is such that it will make your whole life miserable. None of their work is done without corruption, and I am giving proof of all this..."
