Patna: The Grand Alliance in Bihar will hold a key meeting on April 17 in Patna to begin discussions on seat sharing and election strategy ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections, even as a disagreement brews between the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress over the chief ministerial candidate.
Leaders from the RJD, Congress and Left parties are expected to attend the meeting, which will mark the first formal round of talks among alliance partners. Sources said that while the primary agenda is seat distribution, the issue of projecting a chief ministerial face may also come up during the discussions.
The RJD has already declared Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, as the CM face of the Mahagathbandhan. Senior RJD leaders have asserted that the alliance will contest the polls under his leadership.
However, the Congress has taken a divergent stand. Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru recently stated that the decision on who will lead the alliance should be taken after the election results. Echoing this stance, Congress national general secretary Sachin Pilot, when asked in Patna on Thursday, said, “The name of the chief minister will be decided after the Mahagathbandhan gets a majority.”
The differing positions have exposed tensions within the alliance, with the RJD pushing for clarity ahead of the polls and the Congress advocating a wait-and-watch approach. While the focus of the April 17 meeting remains on seat adjustments, political observers believe that the leadership issue could become a flashpoint in the run-up to the elections.
