News Brief
Arun Dhital
Oct 23, 2025, 01:30 PM | Updated 01:30 PM IST
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After weeks of intense deliberations, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was officially announced as the Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar elections, the India Today reported.
Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani, who played a key role in seat-sharing negotiations, was declared the deputy chief ministerial candidate.
“After discussions with all senior leaders, we have decided that Tejashwi Yadav will be the CM face of Mahagathbandhan in the upcoming Bihar polls. He has a long future ahead,” senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, sent to Patna as a troubleshooter amid alliance fissures, said.
Gehlot added that aside from Sahani, another backward class leader would be appointed deputy CM if the INDI Alliance comes to power.
The two-phase elections in Bihar are scheduled for 6 and 11 November, with results to be announced on 14 November.
Tejashwi, contesting from his traditional Raghopur seat, expressed gratitude to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for backing him.
“We, the leaders of the Mahagathbandhan, do not just want to form the government or become the CM, but we want to work for Bihar… We will work together to kick out NDA’s double engine government, whose one engine is corruption and the other engine is crime,” he said.
The Congress had previously refrained from projecting Tejashwi as the CM face, despite his visible rapport with Rahul Gandhi during the Voter Adhikar Yatra.
However, questions remain over seat-sharing, with around 12 constituencies seeing overlapping nominations.
The RJD, the bloc’s dominant party, has fielded 143 candidates, Congress is contesting 61 seats, and the remaining seats are being shared among CPI(ML), Sahani’s VIP, and smaller allies.
Today is the last date for candidate withdrawals for the second phase, and unresolved overlaps could split votes, potentially benefiting the NDA in key constituencies.
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