Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday hinted that the 2025 Assembly elections in the state would be contested under the leadership of his deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
Stating this while addressing MLAs and MLCs of the Bihar ruling coalition, he also declared that he was neither the prime ministerial candidate nor the chief ministerial candidate of Bihar’s Mahagathbandhan coalition.
"I am not a prime ministerial candidate. I am trying to unite political parties that want to dislodge the BJP in 2024. We want to strengthen the hand of Tejashwi Yadav," Kumar said.
He had earlier said that the state government under his leadership has been working hard, but if there was anything left, Yadav would take it forward. "There are people who may try to create a division but we have to remain united and keep working."
His statement was later supported by other grand alliance partners — the RJD and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM).
" Kumar has taken a stand and declared that Tejashwi Yadav will be the face of the grand alliance in Bihar. The final decision regarding the issue will be taken during the core group meeting of the grand alliance. There is no doubt that Yadav is working hard for the development of the state and I think our coalition will move forward under his leadership if he is elevated," HAM spokesperson Danish Rizwan said.
However, Tejashwi Yadav, who was also present on the dais, reacting to the statement, said, "The main agenda is 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Other things will come after that."
After returning to the grand alliance, Nitish Kumar dropped many hints about Tejashwi Yadav being his political heir.
The recent announcement regarding the issue comes when the BJP has been trying to corner Kumar over JD(U)’s debacle in the Kurhani Assembly constituency. Kumar’s endorsement of Yadav is expected to heighten the political wrangling in the state.
Reacting to Kumar’s statement, BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said, "He has lost political credibility because of his U-turns. He has survived in politics either by sitting in the lap of the BJP or the RJD… The earlier statements of Shivanand Tiwary and Jagdanand Singh have created moral pressure on Mr Kumar regarding what he had promised to the RJD supremo. He is making such statements only to assuage the antagonistic feelings of the RJD and assure them that he is committed to promoting Tejashwi Yadav."
The BJP spokesperson added: "The Gopalganj and Kurhani byelection results are a warning signal for Nitish Kumar’s declining political graph. He is now a leader of compulsion at the mercy of Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav."
