Patna: In a high-stakes effort to prevent the collapse of the Grand Alliance unity ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Congress observer for the polls, Ashok Gehlot, visited the residence of RJD leader and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi in Patna on Wednesday.
Gehlot held private discussions for approximately one hour with the RJD’s top leadership, including Lalu Prasad, his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and wife Rabri. The meeting was reportedly successful in resolving “all grievances” between the two principal parties, the RJD and the Congress.
Emerging from the meeting, Gehlot expressed confidence in the alliance’s future. “There’s a press conference tomorrow; all confusion will be cleared. The Grand Alliance is entering the fray unitedly,” he announced.
Friendly Fights and CM Candidate
The primary friction point centered on roughly 10 Assembly seats where both parties had fielded candidates against one another. Gehlot downplayed this, suggesting that some of these battles could become “friendly fights.”
#WATCH पटना: बिहार विधानसभा चुनाव के लिए कांग्रेस पर्यवेक्षक अशोक गहलोत ने कहा, “कल प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस है, सारा भ्रम दूर हो जाएगा। महागठबंधन एकजुट होकर मैदान में उतर रहा है। 243 सीटों में से 5-10 सीटों पर लोकल मुद्दे भी होते हैं वहां फ्रेंडली फाइट हो सकती है। कोई दिक्कत नहीं है।” pic.twitter.com/CcTbFIi9bF
— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) October 22, 2025
“Out of the 243 seats, there are local issues in 5-10 seats, and there could be a friendly fight there. There’s no problem,” Gehlot stated, indicating that the alliance is willing to tolerate some internal contests to maintain overall cohesion.
Prior to today’s meeting, relations had soured, primarily due to the Congress avoiding a clear declaration of Tejashwi as its Chief Ministerial candidate. This ambiguity was widely seen as the reason for the negative messaging and Tejashwi’s noticeable absence from joint campaign activities.
Focus on Future Strategy
Krishna Allavaru, in-charge of the Bihar Congress, confirmed the positive nature of the high-level talks, noting that the meeting covered “future strategies for better coordination and campaigning.”
#WATCH | पटना, बिहार: राजद प्रमुख लालू यादव और राजद नेता तेजस्वी यादव से मुलाकात के बाद, बिहार के लिए AICC प्रभारी कृष्णा अल्लावरु ने कहा, “हमने आगे की रणनीतियों और सरकार बनने के बाद राज्य के लोगों के लिए कैसे काम कर सकते हैं, इस पर चर्चा की। कल हर विवरण दिया जाएगा। NDA को जवाब… pic.twitter.com/aln5MaiWh8
— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) October 22, 2025
“We discussed future strategies and how we can work for the people of the state after forming the government. Every detail will be given tomorrow,” Allavaru said, while simultaneously challenging the opposition, stating, “The NDA should answer what they have done in the last five years.”
All eyes are now set on the joint press conference scheduled for Thursday, where the leadership is expected to officially unveil the unified seat-sharing formula and potentially affirm their CM candidate, putting an end to weeks of internal discord.
