Congress did not confirm RJD ally Tejashwi Yadav as mahagathbandhan’s CM face; BJP has not confirmed CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar as NDA’s choice. File | Photo credit: PTI
Ahead of the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections on November 6, there is still utter confusion between the two main political blocs in the state over their chief ministerial candidates. Their seat-sharing plans also keep changing, with voters in a number of constituencies remaining confused about the candidates and their party affiliations.
For example, both the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal have fielded their own candidates in more than a dozen seats, although they are believed to be partners in the opposition mahagathbandhan alliance.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance claimed to have finalized seat-sharing between the partners, but voters in Chenari seat in Rohtas district are confused by sitting MLA Murari Prasad Gautam, who was elected on a Congress ticket but joined the BJP last year and appears to be contesting the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) ticket this year.
“We are still confused from which party Gautam ji is the candidate even though he has filed his nomination papers on LJP (RV) ticket,” said Kanhaiya Prasad, 48, a mason in Gurugram who returns to his Chenari constituency every election term. “Je baar confusia diya hai sabko (they have confused us all this time),” he laughed. “I don’t know yet who are the CM faces of the parties? I don’t think anyone has announced it yet… In this confused state, it is better for Nitish to continue it, he is doing a good job,” he said, quickly adding, “But if someone else emerges before the polls, we will definitely reconsider… We will see what happens before the polls come.”
Elusive Congress support for Tejashwi
In the mahagathbandhan, the Congress is yet to confirm RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the CM face of the alliance, with party leaders saying they will discuss the issue only after the elections. “And this seems to be a real bottleneck between the two parties on finalizing seat-sharing…RJD marks Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram as the man behind the game plan and hence RJD has also fielded Suresh Paswan as its party’s candidate for Aurangabad district’s Kutumba (reserved) seat, from where Mr. Ram has twice won the Congress Preference Assembly,” he said Ram. anonymous. He hoped that similar issues in nearly a dozen such seats, where both parties have fielded their candidates, “can be resolved by tomorrow”.
However, RJD president and party spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari countered, “Our party leader Tejashwi Yadav was the chairman of the mahagathbandhan coordination committee in the state and the chairman of the committee usually becomes the chief minister of the state”. He added, “With the blessings of the people of the state in the upcoming poll, none other than Tejashwi Yadav will be the next CM of Bihar.”
Also Read: Prashant Kishor: From Behind the Scenes to the Vote
“If not Nitish then who?”
Similar problems plague the ruling NDA, with the BJP yet to declare that JD(U) leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will continue in his role as CM if the alliance wins the elections. “If not Nitish Kumar, who else will it be? He is the chief minister of the state and will be the chief minister even after the polls,” JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said.
However, BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who recently made a three-day visit to poll-bound Bihar, also avoided any direct comment on Mr Kumar’s chances of retaining the CM post. “The leaders of the alliance partners would elect (the CM),” he told a private news channel in Patna. Even while addressing public meetings in Bihar, he offered no assurances that Mr. Kumar would continue as chief minister of the state.
Earlier, after Mr. Kumar severed ties with the BJP to join the mahagathbandhan, Mr. Shah claimed that “all the doors of the BJP have been closed forever for Mr. Kumar”.
The JD(U) and the BJP are contesting an equal number of 101 seats in the 243-member state assembly. The NDA’s other allies – Chirag Paswan led by LJP (RV) with 29 seats and Upendra Kushwaha led by Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi led by Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), who are contesting on six seats each – have also avoided naming any CM candidate.
‘state of chaos’
The self-proclaimed third player in the electoral arena, the Jan Suraaj Party founded by former poll strategist Prashant Kishore, also seems unclear on who will be the face of the CM if his party wins the poll.
“For the first time in several decades, Bihar is going to polls without any face of a CM from any political party or bloc, throwing the electorate into a state of chaos,” says political scientist NK Choudhary. “Chaos and confusion reign in the political vault of Bihar today as polls knock on the door,” he added.
Published – 19 October 2025 22:00 IST
