Bihar election 2025: The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc is considering naming RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the CM’s face and may appoint three deputy chief ministers if the coalition forms a government in Bihar. The deputy CMs will be strategically chosen – one each from Dalit, Muslim and extremely backward classes.
Tejashwi Yadav, a two-time former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, is set to go head-to-head with incumbent CM Nitish Kumar. While RJD leaders are confident that Yadav will serve as the de facto chief ministerial candidate for the grand alliance, the coalition’s allies have not yet officially endorsed him.
Seat-sharing formula in final leg
Congress leader Tariq Anwar said that the INDIA bloc’s seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections will be finalised soon. “Our coordination committee is holding continuous meetings, and I hope all the seat-sharing will be finalised between today and tomorrow. The exact seat-sharing will be finalised,” he told news agency ANI.
The seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Assembly election in Bihar is in the final leg, with RJD expected to contest on around 130 seats, Congress 55, CPI-ML 24, CP 8, CPM 6 and VIP 14.
Reactions to three deputy CMs
Members of the INDIA bloc have welcomed the plan to appoint three deputy chief ministers, describing it as a symbolic move to reinforce the alliance’s social justice agenda and to shift focus away from perceptions of Yadav-centric politics.
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said, “This formula is a clear indication that Tejashwi Yadav has emerged as the coalition’s undisputed chief ministerial face.”
“This is his masterstroke to rebrand the RJD’s legacy, where he wants to move beyond the perception of Yadav-centric politics to something more layered – one that brings Dalits, EBCs and minorities into visible power,” he added.
“The symbolic decision is an effort to reclaim the narrative of social justice in a more plural form,” Congress’s Praveen Singh Kushwaha said amid the alliance decision for three deputy CMs.
VIP spokesperson Dev Jyoti said that Mukesh Sahni would be one of the deputies of Tejashwi Yadav. “Latest by Thursday evening, Tejashwi will be declared as chief ministerial candidate of the alliance, and one of his deputies will be our leader, Mukesh Sahni.”
Earlier, Congress leader Udit Raj said that the INDIA bloc’s CM would be decided collectively. “Tejashwi Yadav may be CM face for RJD, but INDIA bloc’s CM face will be decided collectively,” he said.
This comes after Tejashwi Yadav’s post on X (formerly Twitter), where he shared a poster outlining his agenda and priorities if elected Chief Minister of Bihar.
“When Tejashwi becomes the CM, none of our brothers and sisters in Bihar would be unemployed,” the poster read. After EC announced the election dates, Tejashwi said that “every Bihari will be a CM this time”.
“People of Bihar want change. They want the government of the Mahagathbandhan this time. Mahagathbandhan will form the government,” he said before adding, “When Tejashwi becomes the CM, there will be no house in Bihar which will have unemployed youth. When Tejashwi comes, he will give jobs to everyone. Unemployment will be rooted out of Bihar… With Tejashwi, every Bihari will be a CM this time, they will be CM – Change Maker.”
He went on to add, “We don’t want a CM who pleads; we want a CM who roars like a lion. Someone who can fight for the rights of the people of Bihar and get them justice. 14th Nov date will be written in golden letters in history.”
The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections. All 243 Assembly constituencies will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with vote counting set for November 14.
According to the final electoral rolls, Bihar has 7.42 crore registered voters, down from 7.89 crore as of June 24, 2025. The Election Commission said that 65 lakh names were removed from the draft list, which had recorded 7.24 crore electors as of August 1, 2025.