Top INDIA bloc leaders missing from poster at Mahagathbandhan press conference, sparks row

The photographs of top INDIA bloc leaders were missing from a banner at the venue of the much-awaited joint press conference of the Mahagathbandhan in Patna on Thursday (October 23), triggering a controversy.

The banner, the image of which has gone viral on social media, carried only a large photograph of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

A joint press conference of the Mahagathbandhan leaders is scheduled to be held in the state capital later in the day.

This is the first press conference of the Mahagathbandhan leaders amid the stalemate over seat-sharing arrangements among the INDIA bloc constituents for the assembly polls.

After days of squabbling that left them pitted against each other in several constituencies of poll-bound Bihar, the Congress and the RJD on Wednesday (October 22) tried to mend fences and put up a cohesive fight against the formidable ruling NDA. Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot flew down to hold talks with RJD president Lalu Prasad and his son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday.

"I had a good discussion with Lalu ji. An impression has been created as if the INDIA bloc was fraying at the seams in Bihar. It is far from the truth. If there is a friendly fight in five or ten seats out of 243, it is not something very big. We are going to take on the NDA as a team. Tomorrow, there will be a press conference where all doubts will be put to rest," Gehlot told reporters on Wednesday after meeting Lalu and Tejashwi.

BJP However, commenting on the poster controversy, BJP's state media in-charge, Danish Iqbal, in a social media post, wrote, "The ongoing infighting within the INDIA bloc is now out in the open... Earlier, Rahul Gandhi did not consider Tejashwi as the face (of the alliance). Now, Tejashwi has removed Rahul Gandhi from the posters. This poster itself is a declaration of the breakup of the Grand Alliance."

However, no RJD leaders were available for comments on the issue. The 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results set to be announced on November 14.