Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday that the Mahagathbandhan will run in the next Assembly election in 2025, led by his deputy Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The statement was issued following a meeting of Mahagathbandhan leaders in the Bihar Assembly. The meeting was attended by Tejashwi Yadav, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Ajit Sharma, Mahboob Alam, and other Mahagathbandhan leaders.
"I have no ambition to become Prime Minister of the country. I have only one ambition: to defeat the BJP and remove it from the Centre. We all are working on it and we will contest the 2025 Assembly election of Bihar under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav," Nitish Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
"I have been working for the development of Bihar and Bihari people and now it is the turn of Tejashwi Yadav to continue the good works in future," he added.
Nitish Kumar has previously stated openly that he intends to promote young generation leader Tejashwi Yadav in the future. He has now stated it in the Assembly.
Nitish Kumar is interested in Centre-level politics. Even leaders of his JD-U and RJD parties have stated that Nitish Kumar possesses all of the qualifications to be Prime Minister of India. Nitish Kumar is a PM material, according to Tejashwi Yadav, RJD state president Jagadanand Singh, and JD-U Parliamentary Board Chairman Upendra Kushwaha.
Nitish Kumar, on the other hand, has stated that he has no desire to become Prime Minister.
Nitish Kumar's announcement came following the Kurhani byelection results, in which his party was defeated. On December 10 and 11, he held an open session with the party's officials and supporters to discuss the present political crisis. According to sources, he was dissatisfied with JD-performance U's in Kurhani. As a result, he announced the name Tejashwi Yadav, which shocked his party's officials.
Nitish Kumar's announcement was widely applauded.
"Tejashwi Yadav's popularity is growing in Bihar. Bihar's people desire to see a change. Bihar's leadership is in the hands of the younger generation "Rakesh Raushan, RJD MLA, stated, IANS reported.
"The Chief Minister's announcement is deeply appreciated. The Mahagathbandhan will thrive under Tejashwi Yadav's leadership "Mahboob Alam, a CPI-MLL MLA, stated.
"Nitish Kumar had stated repeatedly his desire to promote Tejashwi Yadav. He made the announcement during the Mahagathbandhan meeting in Vidhan Sabha. Tejashwi Yadav will be our next president "Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Finance Minister, and JD-U leader stated.
However, BJP MLC and former state minister Shahnawaz Hussain said: "The leaders of Mahagathbandhan are cooking 'Khayali Pulav' (Imaginary meal). The people of Bihar will decide who will be the Chief Minister of Bihar in 2025."
(With Inputs From IANS)