Consensus reached: Tejashwi Yadav to be Mahagathbandhan’s CM face, Mukesh Sahani dy CM face in Bihar

Amid ensuing tensions over seat-sharing in the Mahagathbandhan, senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot announced at a joint press conference of the alliance leaders that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav will be the alliance's chief ministerial face for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls. 

Gehlot said, "All of us sitting here have decided that in these elections, we support Tejashwi Yadav as the CM face." Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani has been declared the Deputy CM face of the Mahagathbandhan for the Bihar assembly polls.

The senior Congress leader further questioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah on who the CM face will be from the NDA, while recounting the events that took place in Maharashtra. 

"We want to ask Amit Shah ji and the president of their party who is the CM face of your alliance? This is our demand because we saw that the election was fought under the leadership of the then CM Eknath Shinde, but later we found out that someone else was chosen as the Chief Minister," Gehlot said. 

Going ahead, Yadav thanked the constituents of the Mahagathbandhan for backing him as the CM face of the alliance. 

"We, the people of Mahagathbandhan, do not just want to form the govt or become the CM, but we want to make Bihar, that is why we are together... I thank all the members of the Mahagathbandhan for showing trust in me. I want to tell all of them that I will do everything possible to live up to your expectations and together we will throw the 20-year-old government that is currently in power," he said. 

Out of the total 243 assembly seats, the RJD is contesting 143 seats, while the Congress is contesting 61 seats. The two parties, however, are also headed for a "friendly fight" in at least 5 constituencies. 

Meanwhile, CPI (ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya stated that Bihar is ready for change, adding the Mahagathbandhan will unitedly fight to win the election. Moreover, Congress leader Pawan Khera dismissed reports of an internal rift within the Mahagathbandhan.

Commenting on PM Modi's visit on October 24, he said that Bihar will welcome some "guests" and that the PM's visit would not have any significant impact. 

Voting in Bihar is set to take place in 2 phases, with the first phase on November 6 and the second on November 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.