There has been buzz about former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav being the chief ministerial face of the INDIA bloc in the upcoming Bihar Election.
However, neither Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, nor any other Opposition leader has explicitly named him as one. But recent remarks made by Tejashwi Yadav during a rally on Saturday have raised eyebrows.
During the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Arrah on Saturday, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav addressed a public gathering, calling out “nakalchi sarkaar [duplicate government]” led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“If you want education and employment, you must remove this inactive government. This government has no vision; they copy what I have done and suggested. They follow Tejashwi…,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
The RJD leader went on to ask the public if they want a “copycat CM” or the “original CM”. He attacked the rulling NDA and said, “Isn’t this government copying me? [nakal kar rhi hai ki nahi mera…]”
He asked, “Tejashwi aage aage hai na? Ye sarkaar peeche peeche hai na? [Isn’t Tejashwi moving ahead and this government is following behind?]
“So tell me, do you want an original CM or a duplicate one?,” Tejashwi said at the rally.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who had joined the opposition leader in the last leg of the Voter Adhikaar Yatra’ on Saturday backed Tejashwi Yadav as the CM candidate.
When asked if Tejashwi Yadav will be the chief ministerial face for the INDIA bloc, Akhilesh Yadav told news agency ANI, “…Tejashwi ji has shown his work here. And when he was in the government here, the decisions he took, jobs were given. What better face can there be than this? I assure him that we will help him with all our experience.”
Tejashwi Yadav popular Bihar CM choice
A C-Voter survey, accessed by Mint, indicated that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is the most preferred candidate to be the next Bihar Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, another opinion poll, InkInsight, revealed that the youth in Bihar may prefer to vote for the NDA, but want RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav as the CM.
As per the C-Voter survey, Nitish Kumar’s popularity dropped by 3 percent – from 18 percent in February 2025 to 15 percent in April.
Even as Tejashwi Yadav emerged as the first choice for the Bihar CM post, his popularity declined from 40.6 percent in February to 35.5 percent in April.
Meanwhile, that of Prashant Kishor’s increased by around two percent – from 14.9 per cent to 17.2 percent.