Rahul Gandhi sidesteps question on Tejashwi as CM face, says focus is on stopping ‘Vote Chori’

The Congress party once again dodged questions about endorsing RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate of the Opposition’s INDIA alliance in Bihar.

Responding to a query during a joint press conference of the alliance in Araria on Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the party is currently focused on the campaign against ‘Vote Chori’ (vote theft).

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When asked why the Congress has not yet declared Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance’s CM face—despite Tejashwi publicly backing Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate of the INDIA bloc—the Congress leader said: “We have formed a very strong partnership. All parties are working together without any tension. There is mutual respect, and we’re supporting each other. We are ideologically and politically aligned, and we are confident of achieving encouraging results. But right now, we must focus on stopping Vote Chori.”

Tejashwi Yadav has projected himself as the CM face of the alliance on several occasions. Leaders from the Left parties, as well as Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani, have also extended their support to his candidature. However, senior Congress leaders in Bihar maintain that a decision on the chief ministerial face will be made only after the Assembly elections.

Addressing the media, Tejashwi Yadav once again targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the PM attempted to mislead people during his speech in Gaya.

He said, “The Prime Minister spoke in Gaya about infiltrators, despite the fact that the Election Commission has never raised any objection to any voter being an infiltrator.”

He also accused the Election Commission of becoming a ‘Godi Aayog’ (a lapdog institution) and claimed that the poll panel has lost its credibility.

CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya stated that after completing one week, the Yatra has reached its midpoint. Over the past seven days, they have sensed a palpable public anger against the Election Commission and the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government.

He added that it is the Election Commission’s responsibility to prepare accurate and error-free electoral rolls. Instead, the Commission has shifted the burden onto political parties.

Bhattacharya also questioned the BJP’s silence on the entire SIR (Special Intensive Revision) exercise.

“I wonder why BJP’s Booth Level Agents (BLAs) have not filed any claims or objections despite the deletion of 65 lakh voters’ names. It shows that the BJP is confident that its own voters’ names have not been removed,” he said.