"BJP doesn't want Nitish Kumar to become Chief Minister": Tejashwi Yadav targets NDA alliance

Patna (Bihar) [India], October 24 (ANI): Taking a sharp jibe at the National Democratic Alliance for not announcing a clear Chief Minister name for the Bihar polls, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "doesn't want Nitish Kumar to become Chief Minister".
The RJD leader said their alliance was never confused, but the NDA has not yet revealed its vision and agenda.
Speaking to ANI, the RJD leader said, "We've never been confused about this. We're clear on this matter. But the question is, who will be the NDA's face? So far, no joint press conference has been held, no vision has been revealed, no agenda has been announced, and no Chief Minister has been announced."
"Amit Shah's statement clearly shows that Nitish Kumar is not going to be made Chief Minister. He stated that after the elections, the MLAs of the legislative party will choose their leader. BJP doesn't want Nitish Kumar to become Chief Minister," Yadav added.
A day earlier, four Mahagathbandhan candidates, including three from the Congress and one from the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), withdrew their nominations in favour of their ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), ahead of polling for the high-stakes Bihar Assembly elections.
Congress candidate Satish Kumar from the Warsaliganj constituency withdrew his nomination for RJD's Anita, while Aditya Kumar from the Lalganj constituency did for RJD's Shivani Shukla. Congress candidate Tauquir Alam from Pranpur also withdrew his nomination in favour of RJD's Ishrat Parween.VIP candidate Bindu Gulab Yadav from Babubarhi constituency withdrew her nomination for RJD's Arun Kumar Singh.
The development comes as a major relief for the RJD and the Mahagathbandhan amid a "friendly fight" situation on several seats.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Tejashwi Yadav was declared as the Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial candidate for the Bihar Assembly elections. Mukesh Sahani, who heads the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), has been named the Deputy CM nominee.
Opposition Mahagathbandhan will release its joint manifesto for the Bihar Assembly elections on October 28 in Patna, sources in the alliance told ANI on Thursday.
The alliance led by Rashtriya Janata Dal includes Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML) led by Deepankar Bhattacharya, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).
The assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The results will be declared on November 14. (ANI)