Patna, July 20: The Congress party has broken its silence over the chief ministerial candidate of the grand alliance for the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar. In an interview, Congress working president of Bihar, Kaukab Quadri said that leaders of the grand alliance will discuss Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav as chief minister in a post-poll situation. Nitish Kumar Wanted to Quit NDA, Rejoin Grand Alliance in Bihar: Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Asked whether the grand alliance, which comprises of Congress, RJD and other smaller parties, accept Tejashwi Yadav as the CM candidate, Kaukab Quadri said: "Our priority is to defeat NDA first. RJD as the biggest party in Grand Alliance has every right to project Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as its CM face but Grand Alliance leaders can discuss it in a post-poll situation." He further asserted that Tejashwi is a potential CM candidate. EC Decides Not to Extend Postal Ballot Facility For Voters Above 65 Years in Bihar Assembly Elections And By-Polls.

Amid reports that the Congress is contemplating its own course of fighting the Bihar elections separately, Quadri said his party and RJD are "inseparable". "One thing is pretty clear that our alliance with RJD is a foregone conclusion. We are inseparable because the two parties can not only consolidate Muslim-Yadav votes of about 30 per cent but Congress can bring in additional votes from upper castes and other sections," he said.

In 2015 Bihar assembly polls, the grand alliance, which had Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) as a partner, defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and came to power. Nitish, however, quit the grand alliance in 2017 over differences with the RJD and formed a new government with support from the BJP.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2020 08:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).