The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday ridiculed the Congress after its leader Rahul Gandhi was notably absent from the Mahagathbandhan’s press conference poster, which prominently featured Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav.
The poster, released ahead of the 11 a.m. press conference at Hotel Maurya in Patna, placed Tejashwi at the centre, with smaller images of other alliance partners, but no trace of Rahul Gandhi.
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla criticised the omission, saying, “Until yesterday, the announcements were that Rahul Gandhi is the face, but now I think there is no respect left for the Congress party at all. Look at the coalition of these parties, no mission, no vision, only confusion, only division, and only ambition for position. There is no decision yet to finalise the candidates.”
BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari added, “No poster of Rahul Gandhi at Mahagathbandhan's scheduled PC at 11 a.m. Rahul Gandhi's leadership has been snubbed by Tejashwi Yadav and his supporters! The Mahabharat between the RJD and the Congress continues within the Mahagathbandhan.”
The development comes amid reports that the Mahagathbandhan has reached a consensus to project Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. RJD sources confirmed that all constituents of the alliance have agreed to endorse Tejashwi, with a formal announcement expected at noon. The alliance is also expected to launch its campaign slogan under his leadership — “Chalo Bihar, Badlein Bihar (Let's go Bihar, Let's change Bihar).”
Also Read : Mahagathbandhan to project Tejashwi Yadav as CM face
Sources said the decision to project Tejashwi as the chief ministerial face was a compulsion for Congress. In response to central and Bihar government schemes offering Rs 10,000 cash transfers to women, Congress has chosen to play the “caste card”.
Party insiders believe that the Rs 10,000 schemes, including those aimed at women’s employment, were having a significant impact on the ground. To counter this, Congress felt it essential to firmly project Tejashwi as the CM candidate ahead of the elections. They hope that once Congress and other Mahagathbandhan constituents loudly endorse Tejashwi, Yadav and Muslim voters will unite strongly behind him, giving the alliance a head start with a consolidated 32 per cent vote base, including 18 per cent Muslims and 14 per cent Yadavs.
The announcement comes on the last day for withdrawing nominations, as seat-sharing negotiations have stretched to the final hours. The Mahagathbandhan, comprising RJD, Congress, and smaller parties, continues to face internal disagreements on around a dozen seats.
In a last-ditch effort to resolve the crisis, senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot arrived in Patna on Wednesday. He met RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi to defuse tensions, with Tejashwi tweeting, “Today, I had a fruitful election discussion with the respected former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot.”
Gehlot downplayed concerns about infighting, saying that in a 243-seat assembly, “friendly fights” on five to ten seats were not a major issue.
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