Ample hints that Tejashwi is INDIA bloc's CM candidate: CPI (ML) Liberation

CPI (ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya asserted "ample hints have been dropped" that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is the INDIA bloc's chief ministerial candidate in Bihar, though there may not have been a formal announcement.

The remarks came at a press conference here on Monday in response to a query about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's apparent reluctance to project Yadav, though the RJD leader has openly pitched for making Gandhi "the next prime minister".

"The wise can heed the hints," quipped Bhattacharya, adding, "Only yesterday, you all saw Rahul and Tejashwi riding motorcycles next to each other (during the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'). Ample hints have been given, from time to time, even though no formal announcement has been made by the INDIA bloc." On Sunday, at a press conference in Araria district, Gandhi had side-stepped a query on whether a consensus has been reached on declaring Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.

This had led senior NDA leaders like BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad to claim that there was a trust deficit between the RJD and Congress, which would prove to be the INDIA bloc's undoing in the polls.

"There is full clarity in the INDIA bloc as to who would be the CM if the coalition wins power. On the other hand, there is full clarity in the NDA that (CM) Nitish Kumar is, for the moment, being presented as its face, but a game is being played behind the scenes," Bhattacharya claimed.

Kumar heads the JD(U), which has less than 50 MLAs in the 243-strong assembly. The BJP, which is numerically superior, is yet to have its own chief minister in the state.

Bhattacharya, who is also one of the petitioners challenging the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, demanded that the Election Commission "extend the August 31 deadline" for filing claims and objections with regard to wrongful deletion of names in the draft rolls.

"A large number of people whose names have been deleted happen to be migrant workers. They must get more time. Also, the EC has been dragging its feet on approving more than 1,000 booth-level agents nominated by us. It must act quickly," he said.

"For long, the EC had been maintaining that it received no claims from political parties. Today, it has conceded that 10 objections have been received, all from CPI(ML) Liberation. We will continue doing our bit, but wonder what the BJP's celebrated machinery has been doing. Does the party have no sympathy for all those whose names have been dropped?" asked Bhattacharya.

Meanwhile, in a related development, Tejashwi Yadav came out with a video in which he has appealed to the RJD rank and file to help the people "whose names may have gotten deleted because of EC's dishonesty or who want to get enrolled as voters for the first time".

"Only a few days are left for the yatra to conclude. Our workers... should devote themselves completely to the task... there will be plenty of time for the work," added Yadav.