Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Thursday declared Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar assembly elections. Bihar assembly elections are to be held in two phases on 6 and 11 November.
Addressing a press conference, Gehlot said, “Everyone should be concerned (about the situation in the country). That is why after consulting Kharge ji, Rahul ji and others sitting here, I can say that Tejashwi Yadav is the CM candidate for this election. He is a young person. He has a long future and the public will support him.”
Gehlot, who was appointed senior election observer by the All India Congress Committee, said the people of Bihar want change as they are struggling with many issues including unemployment. He said the way the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Center was functioning was a “threat to democracy”.
He said, “It is natural to be concerned about the condition of the country and the state. The situation is serious. The way the NDA government is functioning is a threat to democracy. Polarization is happening. No one knows in which direction the country is going. If you criticize, you are sent to jail, it does not matter whether you are a journalist or an activist. It is our responsibility to take care of what the country wants. The country is watching Bihar. Is. The issue of unemployment remains. “People want change.”
Several prominent leaders of the Grand Alliance and India Alliance were present on the occasion, including CPI (ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram, Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) convenor Mukesh Sahni, among others.
Vikassheel Insaan Party chief Sahni has been made the Deputy CM candidate by the Grand Alliance.
He said, “I was waiting for this moment for 3.5 years. Now that moment has come. Not just VIPs or Mukesh Sahni, lakhs of people in the party were waiting for this. BJP broke our party and broke our MLAs. At that time, we had taken a pledge with Ganga water in our hands – ‘We will not leave the BJP until we break it. The time has come, standing strong with the Grand Alliance, we will form our government in Bihar. And will drive BJP out of the state.”
He said, “The grand alliance is united and strong. In the coming times, we will work and form our government.”
CPML leader Dipankar Bhattacharya said, “The people of Bihar were waiting for the elections for a long time. This election is for the youth, farmers, women and the poor. We want to assure the people that Bihar is ready. This grand alliance will fight unitedly to win the elections.”