Tejashwi Yadav projected as CM face of INDIA bloc in Bihar by Congress leaders

The Hindu

27-06-2025

At a time when senior Congress leaders in Bihar have maintained that the Chief Ministerial face of the Opposition alliance will be decided only after the Assembly elections, two of the party's prominent voices - Rajya Sabha MP and former Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Akhilesh Kumar Singh, and youth leader Kanhaiya Kumar - have publicly endorsed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav for the post.
'Who else other than RJD's Tejashwi Yadav will be the CM face of the Opposition bloc?' Mr. Singh told media persons on Thursday (June 26) night, following a meeting with RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav at the residence of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi in Patna's Circular Road. Mr. Singh, known to be close to the RJD patriarch, was recently replaced as BPCC chief by Dalit leader Rajesh Kumar.
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'The wind of change is blowing across the state and is visible on every face here. People want to get rid of the present dispensation,' he added.
When asked about the purpose of his visit, Mr. Singh said, 'We're in social and public life, so meeting senior politicians at short intervals is part of our daily routine. I had come to inquire about Laluji's health.'
His remarks come amid the Congress's official stance, reiterated by Bihar incharge Krishna Allavaru and other senior leaders, that Tejashwi Yadav currently heads only the coordination committee of the Bihar alliance, and that announcing a CM face is beyond the scope of the panel.
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A day later, on June 27, Congress national spokesperson and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar also endorsed Mr. Yadav as the prospective Chief Minister. 'If the mahagathbandhan gets a majority in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, the Chief Minister will be from the RJD. There is no confusion or dispute over Tejashwi Yadav being the main face for the CM's post,' Mr. Kumar said in New Delhi.
He also alleged that political opponents were trying to 'divert attention by raking up the matter of the coalition's CM face'. 'It is true that RJD is a bigger party, has more MLAs, provides leadership to the mahagathbandhan, and holds the post of Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly. Naturally, it is their responsibility,' he said.
Mr. Kumar also noted that all constituent parties, including the Vikassheel Insaan Party led by Mukesh Sahani, had their respective roles in the coalition.
Both Mr. Singh and Mr. Kumar belong to the Bhumihar community, an upper caste grouping in Bihar.
Meanwhile, Left party leaders have begun arriving in Patna for discussions with the RJD to finalise seat-sharing arrangements and election strategy. On June 26, the RJD released a campaign video over five minutes in length, prominently projecting Tejashwi Yadav as the next Chief Minister. The video, however, makes no reference to the 15-year rule of his parents, Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi - a period once dubbed 'jungle raj' by the Patna High Court - apparently to distance the campaign from that legacy.