Am in no rush to be chief minister, says Tejashwi Yadav after JD-U clarification

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader’s remarks were designed to help ease the pressure on the leadership of its alliance partner, the Janata Dal-United

PATNA: Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Wednesday asserted that he was not in a hurry to become the chief minister and underlined that chief minister Nitish Kumar was very capable of remaining in the post for a long time.

Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said there was no reason for him to feel betrayed

“I am not in a hurry to become the chief minister. Our ultimate aim is to defeat the BJP in the 2024 parliamentary election. We cannot allow communal forces to return back to power for our own selfish desires,” Yadav told reporters after reviewing tourism projects in Jehanabad.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader’s remarks were designed to help ease the pressure on the leadership of its alliance partner, the Janata Dal-United, after party leader Upendra Kushwaha rebelled against Nitish Kumar and formed his own party. In the weeks ahead of his exit, Kushwaha accused Nitish Kumar of a secret deal to merge the JD-U into the RJD after Nitish Kumar in December endorsed Tejashwi Yadav as the next leader of the ruling alliance ahead of the 2025 elections.

The JD-U has been trying to play down Nitish Kumar’s announcement since then .

JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh this week told reporters that there was no decision on the CM face of the grand alliance for the 2025 elections while general secretary KC Tyagi asserted that Nitish Kumar will be the CM face even in 2030.

Yadav said there was no reason for him to feel bad about it.

“Why should I feel betrayed? And whatever they have said about 2025 and 2030, there is nothing wrong. 2025 is still far away. Besides, CM Kumar is an experienced leader and I too feel he has the capability and he would gain more experience,” Yadav said.

The deputy CM also said the seven-party alliance was intact and the government working just fine. “Our coalition government is working fine. There is no problem. People should not harbour any confusion,” he said.

But there have been murmurs. There was also some drama when RJD MLA Vijay Kumar Mandal claimed that CM Kumar would himself make Tejashwi the chief minister in March and move for a national role to unite the opposition ahead of the 2024 parliamentary polls. JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar described Mandal’s statement as rubbish.

BJP spokesperson, Nikhil Anand said: “After the statement of Lalan Singh and KC Tyagi, the counter-reaction from the deputy CM suggests both Tejawshwi and CM Kumar are trapped in a unique situation where they are unable to react properly to any issue. This is why their statements are filled with taunts and sarcasm”.