Ahead of Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entering Bihar, deputy chief minister and senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday asserted that the grand alliance would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Tejashwi Yadav met Nitish Kumar before making the announcement
Tejashwi made the statement after he, along with his father, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, met Nitish at his official residence, 1, Anne Marg in the state capital. His announcement created a flutter in the Congress camp as Lalu's family has always been considered close to the Gandhi family. His statement comes at a time when seat sharing is yet to be worked out as both Lalu and Nitish are not ready to concede more than 4-5 seats to Congress in the Lok Sabha election.
Although Congress was the only party from the grand alliance to win a seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the grand old party's performance was dismal in the 2020 state assembly election, winning only 19 out of the total 70 seats it contested.
In 2019 Lok Sabha election, Congress vote share was 7.70 per cent
Congress's vote share in the 2019 Lok Sabha election was just 7.70 per cent as JD (U), which had contested the election as an ally of NDA, had cornered a 21.81 per cent vote share. On the other hand, RJD's vote share was 15.36 per cent.
After the meeting with Nitish, Tejashwi said, "Grand Alliance is firmly united. We will contest the Lok Sabha election under the leadership of Nitish." To a media query on the possibility of political realignment (Nitish returning to NDA), Tejashwi said, "I am sorry you are asking these questions. There is no ground reality in it. BJP will be completely routed in the Lok Sabha election."
