'Who is CM face of your alliance?' INDIA bloc questions NDA after Tejashwi named Mahagathbandhan leader

After the Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar announced RJD leader and former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav as its Chief Ministerial face on Thursday, leaders of the INDIA bloc questioned the NDA alliance for failing to unite behind incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as their candidate. Other than Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial face, the alliance also nominated Mukesh Sahani as the Deputy CM face for the upcoming state assembly elections scheduled to be held on November 6.

"NDA has not even announced a name, they are saying that MLAs will decide who their leader will be. So, tell me who is late? It is Bihar which is 20 years late on the path to development... Strategies have been decided on all seats...There is no confusion on our side," said Congress spokesperson Pawan Verma, news agency ANI reported.

Congress questions BJP-JDU on CM face

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, who formally declared Tejashwi Yadav and Mukesh Sahani as the alliance’s candidates, also questioned the BJP over its choice for the Chief Ministerial post.

"We want to ask Amit Shah ji and the president of their party - who is the CM face of your alliance? This is our demand because we saw that the election (in Maharashtra) was fought under the leadership of the then CM Eknath Shinde, but later we found out that someone else was chosen as the Chief Minister," Gehlot said.

In addition, the Mahagathbandhan alliance appeared more united despite speculations and several reports of confusion in their ranks in the run-up to today's news conference.

Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav, set to take on Nitish Kumar, acknowledged the challenge ahead but expressed confidence in steering the Gathbandhan to victory on November 14. "All the leaders of the Grand Alliance have shown trust in me, and I will live up to that trust. Together, we will uproot the corrupt 'double engine' government. We have also held a press conference together, but injustice is being done to Nitish Kumar ji in the NDA. He has not even been declared the face of the Chief Minister. The truth is that the BJP will not make Nitish Kumar ji the Chief Minister. Amit Shah has already confirmed that the number of legislators will determine the Chief Minister. The question is, every time, the face of the Chief Minister has been declared, so why is such a statement being made this time?" he said, ANI reported.