Nitish won’t be made CM again, BJP ‘hijacked’ him: Tejashwi Yadav

Alleging that Bihar was still a ‘poor’ state despite the 20-year of rule by the JD(U)-led NDA, Tejashwi Yadav promised he would present a “clean government”

PATNA : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Opposition bloc’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav on Friday intensified his attack on Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, alleging that he was “hijacked” by the BJP and will not return to the state’s top post even if the NDA is again voted to power.

The Opposition Grand Alliance in Bihar has named Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate. (HT file Photo)

“Amit Shah has made it clear that elected legislators will decide the CM of Bihar after elections. Nitish Kumar will not be made the CM if the NDA is voted to power again... Our ‘chacha’ (Nitish) is not in control of things. He has been hijacked by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, who are operating in Bihar from outside,” Yadav said at a rally in Saharsa district. He also appealed to the people to vote for a “Bihari” and not “bahri” (outsiders) in the upcoming elections.

The Opposition Grand Alliance in Bihar had on Thursday named Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate and VIP chief Mukesh Sahani as its deputy chief ministerial face for the assembly polls next month, after weeks of squabbling over seats.

Alleging that Bihar was still a “poor” state despite the 20-year of rule by the JD(U)-led NDA, Yadav promised that he would present a “clean government”.

“As a Bihari, I feel anguished to see the poor condition of Bihar. It gives me pain when I see widespread unemployment, rampant corruption, and a prevailing sense of impunity present among criminals. Despite 20 years of the NDA rule in Bihar and 11 years at the Centre, the state’s per capita income is the lowest and farmers remain poor,” he said.

The former deputy CM added that he will ensure a government that would listen to the people’s grievances and provide affordable medicines and jobs to them.

Accusing the Centre of using probe agencies against Opposition leaders, including him and his family members, he said: “Lalu Yadav did not fear Modi. His son would also not be afraid.”

The remark comes days after a Delhi court framed charges of corruption, conspiracy and cheating against RJD chief Lalu Prasad, his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, and their son Tejashwi Yadav, in connection with the alleged IRCTC hotels scam. The court described Lalu Prasad as the “fountainhead of a criminal conspiracy” that manipulated a railway tender in exchange for land and other favours.

During the rally, Yadav said: “What the NDA government has failed to do in 20 years, I will do in 20 months.” He added that people want a Bihar that is “free of corruption and crime, and attracts investment for growth”.

If voted to power, he said, the INDIA bloc would “bring down the price of LPG cylinders to ₹500 from around ₹1,000, increase the old-age pension to ₹1,500 from ₹1,100, regularise the services of contractual workers and community mobilisers, and provide a government job in each household of Bihar”.

Addressing a rally in Muzaffarpur, Yadav said “Muzaffarpur is known across the globe for its Litchis. What has the NDA government done to promote the fruit? Nothing.” Yadav claimed that he “will make a world record in providing employment once his alliance is voted to power in the 2025 assembly election.”