Maintain soft approach towards Nitish Kumar but target BJP leaders, Tejashwi tells INDIA bloc leaders

Ahead of the Bihar Assembly election, the INDIA bloc held its latest meeting in Patna on Saturday (July 12, 2025) at the official residence of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav.

Top leaders of the Opposition alliance, including Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Alavaru, Bihar Congress State president Rajesh Kumar, Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani along with senior leaders of the Left parties were present in the meeting, which lasted for over six hours.

After the meeting, Mr. Yadav posted a message on his X account saying: “Today, in the meeting of the coordination committee and various sub-committees of the INDIA bloc, meaningful and positive discussions took place on various election-related topics.”

Mr. Yadav leads the coordination committee consisting of 21 members from all the six parties of INDIA bloc. The three Left parties comprise the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Sources in the meeting said that talks were also held on the joint campaign and manifesto of the alliance.

A senior leader who was present in the meeting requesting anonymity said that Mr. Yadav asked the leaders of INDIA bloc not to vehemently attack Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and maintain a soft approach towards him while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders should be the main target.

EBC vote-bank

Asked about the reasons behind such an approach, the leader said: “There is a perception that Nitish Kumar is still the leader of the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) vote-bank, which is the largest chunk in Bihar of over 36%. So, targeting him will not bring much benefit to INDIA bloc and also due to his falling health condition. So, we have been asked not to go hard on Mr. Kumar and BJP leaders should be on the radar.”

After the meeting, Mr. Sahani of the VIP said the discussions were “intense and long”. He added that the seat-sharing talks for the election will be finalised soon.

“We are not in a hurry. Many a times, the [alliance] candidates are changed after seeing the opposing candidates. So, let’s wait for that. However, those who are likely to contest the election are already doing their campaign in their respective Assembly constituencies,” Mr. Sahani said.

The VIP chief projected himself for the post of Deputy Chief Minister from the EBC category if the INDIA bloc forms the government asserting that there is no confusion about the Chief Ministerial face for which Tejashwi Yadav has been accepted by all the parties in the alliance.

Mutual distrust: JD(U)

Janata Dal (United) State spokesperson Anjum Ara, in a media statement, targeted the Opposition meeting alleging that leadership crisis and mutual distrust among the partners in INDIA bloc is at its peak.

“No party is ready to compromise in front of their personal interest. On one hand, Mukesh Sahani is demanding 60 seats, on the other hand Congress and Left parties are also engaged in imposing their own conditions. In such a situation, it has become clear that the grand alliance has neither policy, nor leadership nor any common vision,” Ms. Ara stated.