The Crossbill News Desk
With the Bihar Assembly elections slated for later this year, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) held a key strategy meeting in Delhi on Tuesday, April 15.
The meeting was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi, Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, and state unit president Rajesh Kumar. From the RJD, former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, Rajya Sabha MPs Manoj Kumar Jha and Sanjay Yadav participated in the talks.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Tejashwi Yadav described the talks as “positive” but declined to share specifics on whether seat-sharing was discussed.
“We will be meeting all alliance partners on April 17 in Patna. Our focus is on taking Bihar forward. Despite two decades of rule by the current state government and 11 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, Bihar remains the most economically backward state, with the lowest per capita income, lowest farmers’ income, and highest out-migration,” Yadav said.
He added that the opposition was united in its resolve to fight the elections on real issues and to expose the shortcomings of the ruling regime.
Responding to questions on whether he would be projected as the Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial face, Yadav said the alliance would take a collective decision. He also accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of being “hijacked” by the BJP, and claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on fighting elections under Nitish Kumar’s leadership did not clarify whether Kumar would be CM after the polls.
“Let the public decide. But one thing is clear—the NDA will not return to power in Bihar,” he said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also weighed in with a statement on social media platform X, saying that the upcoming elections would end the BJP’s “opportunistic alliance” in Bihar.
“In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from the BJP and its opportunistic alliance. Youth, farmers-labourers, women, backward, extremely backward and people of all other sections of the society want the Mahagathbandhan government,” Kharge said.
In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the Congress had contested 70 seats and won 19, while the RJD secured 75 out of 144 seats it fought. The CPI(ML) had an impressive showing, winning 12 out of 19 seats contested. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the RJD bagged four seats, Congress three, and the CPI(ML) two.
In a bid to kick-start its campaign, the Congress has also been conducting the “Palayan Roko, Naukri Do” (Stop Migration, Provide Jobs) Yatra across Bihar, with Rahul Gandhi recently joining the yatra in Patna—his third visit to the state in three months.
The meeting was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi, Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, and state unit president Rajesh Kumar. From the RJD, former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, Rajya Sabha MPs Manoj Kumar Jha and Sanjay Yadav participated in the talks.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Tejashwi Yadav described the talks as “positive” but declined to share specifics on whether seat-sharing was discussed.
“We will be meeting all alliance partners on April 17 in Patna. Our focus is on taking Bihar forward. Despite two decades of rule by the current state government and 11 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, Bihar remains the most economically backward state, with the lowest per capita income, lowest farmers’ income, and highest out-migration,” Yadav said.
He added that the opposition was united in its resolve to fight the elections on real issues and to expose the shortcomings of the ruling regime.
Responding to questions on whether he would be projected as the Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial face, Yadav said the alliance would take a collective decision. He also accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of being “hijacked” by the BJP, and claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on fighting elections under Nitish Kumar’s leadership did not clarify whether Kumar would be CM after the polls.
“Let the public decide. But one thing is clear—the NDA will not return to power in Bihar,” he said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also weighed in with a statement on social media platform X, saying that the upcoming elections would end the BJP’s “opportunistic alliance” in Bihar.
“In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from the BJP and its opportunistic alliance. Youth, farmers-labourers, women, backward, extremely backward and people of all other sections of the society want the Mahagathbandhan government,” Kharge said.
In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the Congress had contested 70 seats and won 19, while the RJD secured 75 out of 144 seats it fought. The CPI(ML) had an impressive showing, winning 12 out of 19 seats contested. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the RJD bagged four seats, Congress three, and the CPI(ML) two.
In a bid to kick-start its campaign, the Congress has also been conducting the “Palayan Roko, Naukri Do” (Stop Migration, Provide Jobs) Yatra across Bihar, with Rahul Gandhi recently joining the yatra in Patna—his third visit to the state in three months.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment