Tejashwi downplays RJD claim of CM bid in 2023

On Thursday, Jagdanand Singh had said that chief minister Nitish Kumar would make way for Tejashwi Yadav as the CM in 2023 as he himself steps up efforts to play a larger role in national politics ahead of the 2024 parliamentary polls.

Bihar’s deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Friday sought to downplay his party’s state unit president Jagdanand Singh’s statement about his elevation to the chief minister’s post in 2023, saying such statements were “unnecessary” and that he was not in any hurry to get the top post.

Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. (PTI)

“ I am not in race for any post, and I not in any hurry. Our leaders should refrain from making such statements. Right now, our main priority is to oust the BJP in 2024 parliamentary polls,” Yadav said in response to questions from reporters in Patna.

On Thursday, Singh had said that chief minister Nitish Kumar would make way for Tejashwi Yadav as the CM in 2023 as he himself steps up efforts to play a larger role in national politics ahead of the 2024 parliamentary polls.

Kumar’s party JD-U was quick to dismiss Singh’s assertion. JD(U) parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha had said, “Singh’s statement is akin to a father desperate to get his son or daughter married fearing something could go wrong.”

The deputy CM also tried to dispel any suggestions of friction between ruling allies RJD and JD(U). “Nitish Kumar is our CM. Such questions (on who will become CM) should never come . I have no desire of getting any post and I am not in any hurry,” Yadav said, though he noted that CM Kumar had already announced his future plans of bringing all opposition parties under one platform to defeat the BJP in 2024 parliamentary polls.