INDIA bloc begins Bihar poll prep, Tejashwi Yadav to head coordination panel

“While the Congress succeeded by delaying talks over leadership and seat sharing, the RJD was successful in setting up the coordination committee under Tejashwi’s leadership,” said an RJD leader, summing up the outcome of the meeting.

A Congress leader, requesting anonymity, said Yadav’s meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Tuesday “gave clarity on the agenda for the Patna meeting”, which was held amid reports of the RJD’s reservations about the “Palayan Roko, Naukri Do (stop migration, provide jobs)” yatra of Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

According to sources, the coordination committee will deliberate on all aspects in the run-up to the polls, including seat-sharing, campaign issues, and joint campaigns. That Yadav will lead the panel is significant as the RJD is said to be keen on projecting him as the CM face, while Congress leaders are being cautious as the BJP has already revived the “Lalu-Rabri jungle raj” narrative. The RJD has also conveyed to its alliance partner that it does not want a repeat of the mistakes of 2020, a likely reference to the Congress contesting 70 of the 243 seats five years ago. The Congress had the worst strike of all the Mahagathbandhan parties, winning only 19 constituencies.

For the Congress, which has been “aggressive” in its posturing in the recent past, especially with Kanhaiya’s yatra, seat sharing not coming up for discussions is likely to allow it some more time to build momentum and gain leverage for the talks.

After the meeting, Yadav told reporters, “We discussed several issues and unanimously decided to raise issues of migration and unemployment … We need to get rid of this 20-year-old rickety government. Thanks to (Bihar CM) Nitish Kumar disrespecting the people’s mandate and his frequent flip-flops, we have not had a stable government in the state for the past 13 years.”

Confirming the constitution of the coordination committee, All India Congress Committee’s Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru said the panel would meet at regular intervals. “We have decided to stick to the core issues of migration and joblessness. We will not deviate from them,” he said.

Sahani picks a side

For the INDIA bloc, a promising sign was the decision of VIP chief Sahani to attend the meeting. The VIP that was a part of the NDA in 2020 and won four of the 11 seats it contested, attended the meeting even though some reports suggested Sahani was planning to return to the NDA.

Sahani, who hails from the Mallah community, categorised as an Extremely Backward Class, walked out of the Mahagathbandhan ahead of the 2020 polls. “We will continue to raise the issue of a dedicated quota for the Nishad community and allied castes. We did it even when we were a part of the NDA, though it was against their wishes,” he said.