Tejashwi Yadav says RJD will contest all 243 seats in Bihar Assembly polls

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav has declared that his party will contest all 243 seats in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, The Indian Express reported on Monday.

Speaking at a rally in Muzaffarpur’s Kanti on Saturday, the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly said: “And this time, Tejashwi will contest all 243 seats, whether it is Muzaffarpur, Kanti or Bochahan.”

Bochahan is also part of the Muzaffarpur district. Congress’ Bijendra Chaudhary was elected as the MLA from the Muzaffarpur constituency in the 2020 polls, while the legislators from Kanti and Bochahan are part of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Yadav’s comments came amid stalled seat-sharing talks within the Opposition Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), which comprises mainly the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress and three Left parties – Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist).

According to reports, the Congress has demanded to contest 70 seats – the same number it fought on in the previous Assembly elections.

The party has rejected reports of a rift within the alliance.

Gyan Ranjan Gupta, the Congress’ spokesperson in Bihar, said that Yadav’s comment was his “way of asserting his position”, and maintained that leadership decisions would be taken by the alliance’s coordination committee.

The Assembly elections in Bihar are expected to be held in October...

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