In first meeting since Bihar poll debacle, Mahagathbandhan MLAs pick Tejashwi as their leader in House

The five-day winter session of the Bihar Assembly will begin on December 1. “We will remain present throughout the five-day Assembly session and raise every issue in the House, especially to oppose the government’s wrong policies,” said RJD leader and Maner MLA Bhai Virender.

Tejashwi Yadav, who returned to Patna earlier in the day after remaining away from public engagements since the election outcome, presided over the discussions. Alliance leaders reviewed their approach for the upcoming session and explored a coordinated strategy to corner the government inside the House.

The meeting, meanwhile, witnessed a notable absence of Congress legislators, with only one Congress MLC attending. The absent Congress legislators were said to be in Delhi for the party’s meeting.

The only present Congress MLC, Sameer Singh, said concerns were expressed during the meeting about the election results.

“It was felt that such an outcome may have been caused by the Election Commission and the administration’s mismanagement. But we have resolved to fight firmly and consistently, both inside and outside the Assembly,” he said, adding that there is no rift within the Opposition alliance in Bihar and that any such speculation is baseless.

“Whatever issues the government brings to the House, we will respond accordingly. If the government fails to act on its promises, we will continue our struggle. Unemployment is a key issue for us, as are law and order, farmers’ problems, and women’s safety. We will stand firm on all these points and hold the government accountable on every front.”

This meeting followed individual internal meetings and reviews of the alliance partners. While the Congress held a meeting earlier this week of its candidates in Delhi, the RJD held a legislators’ review on November 17 at Tejashwi Yadav’s residence, where a detailed assessment of the election results and organisational matters was carried out. During that meeting, the newly elected RJD MLAs unanimously elected him as the leader of the party’s legislative group.

The NDA secured a decisive mandate in the Assembly election held in Bihar earlier this month, winning over 202 seats in the 243-member House. The BJP bagged 89 seats, the JD(U) 85, the LJP(RV) 19, HAM(S) five and the RLM four.

The Mahagathbandhan finished well short, with just 35 seats, 25 of which were won by the RJD, six by the Congress, and the remaining four shared among CPI(ML)L, CPI(M) and the IIP, with the latter two winning one seat each. Both the RJD and Congress narrowly avoided matching their lowest-ever seat tallies recorded in 2010.

With the Opposition preparing to present a united front and the ruling NDA entering the House with a strong majority, the winter session of the Assembly is set to outline the initial contours of legislative engagement under the new government. The session, scheduled to run till December 5, will include the oath-taking of newly elected MLAs on the first day, the election of the Speaker on the second, as well as the Governor’s address and financial and administrative business of the government during the five-day period.

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