"People Of Bihar Need To Know": Congress Dares NDA To Name Its Chief Ministerial Pick

The Congress, which announced the name of the opposition alliance's Chief Ministerial candidate in Bihar after the filing of the second set of nominations, has maintained that the move was not delayed. The NDA, it pointed out, is yet to name its candidate.

Speaking to NDTV's Vasudha Venugopal in an exclusive interview, Pawan Khera -- who was present at the morning's press conference in Patna where Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav's name was announced -- challenged the NDA to announce its candidate.

Pointing out that the BJP's chief strategist Amit Shah has recently said the MLAs will choose the Chief Minister -- unlike other times when the name of Nitish Kumar was announced upfront - he said: "In the next 24, 48, 72 hours, Prime Minister and Amit Shah both are going to be in Bihar. Why don't you announce that Nitish Kumar will be our Chief Ministerial candidate?".

"We have announced. Now the ball is in their court. People of Bihar need to know. It is their right to know," he added.

In politics, there is a right time for everything, he said. "I don't think there was any delay. Politics is all about timing. Every decision needs to be taken at the right time," he added.

Asked about the criticism regarding Rahul Gandhi's absence at the press conference where Tejashwi Yadav's name was announced, Khera maintained that since Gandhi was not the candidate, his presence was not required. 

"All of us were there and this was to do with announcing the chief ministerial face. Therefore, the backdrop had only one face and all of us had our symbols on the backdrop," he said. 

The Congress had announced the name of the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Grand Alliance after a considerable delay that was seen as a pressure tactic on Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal. The two parties had announced candidates unilaterally, setting up friendly contests in about a dozen seats.

Asked about the matter, Khera indicated that it was a deliberate decision in view of the "local dynamics" of certain seats.

"These decisions are taken with absolute clear analysis of what equations are working on which seat. And that's how these decisions are taken," he said.

Pointing out that this is not the first time this is happening, he said, "It has happened in several states where we have formed the government".