Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav will be the Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar Assembly elections, the Opposition alliance announced on Thursday.

Mukesh Sahani of the Vikassheel Insaan Party was named as the deputy chief minister face.

The Mahagathbandhan alliance comprises the RJD, the Congress, three Left parties, the Vikassheel Insaan Party and the Indian Inclusive Party.

Assembly polls will take place in two phases on November 6 and November 11. The votes will be counted on November 14.

Advertisement

After the announcement by Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, Yadav thanked the alliance partners for showing trust in him.

“I want to tell all of them that I will do everything possible to live up to your expectations and together we will throw the 20-year-old government that is currently in power,” he said at a press conference.

Yadav also reiterated the welfare measures his party has promised in the run-up to the polls. “We have a vision and undying passion to take Bihar forward,” said the RJD leader.

Advertisement

The RJD will contest the largest number of seats as part of the Opposition alliance.

The Congress and the RJD have both fielded candidates in several seats,

On October 16, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah said that the ruling National Democratic Alliance will contest the Bihar polls under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership.

Shah had said that the chief minister would be decided by the legislature party leaders after the polls.

In the 2020 polls, the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan ended up with an identical vote share at 37.2%. However, the NDA retained power in Bihar with a slender majority, winning 125 seats. The majority mark is 122.

The Opposition alliance had won 110 seats. The RJD had emerged as the single-largest party overall with 75 seats.