"Showed Rahul Gandhi His Place?" BJP's Swipe Before Mahagathbandhan Presser

Ahead of the Mahagathbandhan press meet in Patna, during which Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav may be named the alliance's Chief Ministerial face for the Bihar election, the BJP has taken a swipe at the Congress, pointing out that its leader Rahul Gandhi's photo is missing from the posters for the press conference.

The posters carry only Tejashwi Yadav's photograph. Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot, who had rushed to Patna to resolve differences between RJD and Congress during the seat-sharing negotiations, is likely to join Tejashwi Yadav at the press conference. After weeks of hard bargaining, the Mahagathbandhan allies will be looking to send a message of unity at the press meet today.

The BJP has taken a swipe at Rahul Gandhi's missing photograph on the poster for the press meet. "Joint PC? But only one picture. Rahul Gandhi & Congress ka 'samman chori'. Showed Congress & Rahul his place?" BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla posted on X. The 'samman chori' phrase is a wordplay on Gandhi's 'vote chori' campaign that accuses the Election Commission of massive poll irregularities in collusion with the ruling BJP. Both the poll body and the BJP have trashed the charge. 

Joint PC? But only one picture

Rahul Gandhi & Congress ka “samman chori”

Showed Congress & Rahul his place? pic.twitter.com/BTztFZgvOP

— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) October 23, 2025

Poonawalla also claimed that RJD has "virtually bullied and threatened Congress" to accept Tejashwi Yadav as its face. He added that RJD shot off a "chilling threat" to its ally, saying that it would give the Congress "zero seats" if it did not agree.

"So much for Rahul's macho man bravadogiri. .. If alliance partners are threatened imagine Janta ke saath kya hoga," he said, adding, "save the tweet & share if Rahul Gandhi does capitulate".

My source in Congress told me that RJD has virtually bullied & threatened Congress to accept Tejaswi as the face.. might be announced soon..

“अगर नहीं मानेगी तो कांग्रेस को जीरो कर देंगे” was the chilling threat!

So much for Rahul's macho man bravado giri .. If alliance…

— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) October 21, 2025

Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera downplayed the BJP's poster claims. "Let them say whatever they want to say, but there was never a clash in (Mahagathbandhan)," he said. On the poster row, he said, "Is this a relevant issue? Does this issue make any sense to the youth of Bihar?"

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: Congress leader Pawan Khera says, "Let the opposition say whatever they want to say, but there was never a clash between us (Mahagathbandhan)... Is this (Tejashwi Yadav's photo in the poster) a relevant issue? Does this issue make any sense to the youth of… pic.twitter.com/mCsvHvi29u

— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2025

Seat-sharing negotiations between the RJD and Congress hit a roadblock when both parties insisted on contesting certain seats, and the Congress pushed for more seats to contest. This led to a situation in which both parties announced candidates for some seats. Such friendly fights can lead to a division of opposition votes and benefit the BJP and JDU candidates. To tackle the crisis, Gehlot was rushed to Patna. Leaders in the alliance have now claimed that all is well. Some seats, however, may still see friendly fights.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the RJD contested 144 seats and won 75, and Congress fought 70 and won just 19. This time, RJD has announced candidates for 143 seats and Congress has named its picks for 59. Mukesh Sahani's VIP may contest on 15 and 30 seats may go to CPIML, CPM and CPI. On several seats, two allies have announced candidates, but some of these disputes may settle after today's press meet.