Peacemaker Gehlot: What was discussed in the closed-door meeting with Tejashwi Yadav?

While all eyes were on the Mahagathbandhan presser on Thursday, which saw  RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav being declared the Chief Minister face of the Opposition alliance, a secret meeting was held between the Yadav scion and Congress  leader Ashok Gehlot before the key meeting. The Congress leader was dispatched by the party High Command to ease tensions within the Mahagathbandhan.

While the move put Congress on its back foot in the district, what caught everybody’s attention was the closed-door meeting in the same hotel where the press meeting to announce Tejashwi’s name was to be held.

The official version was that both leaders were discussing election-related issues and campaign strategy. However, speculations are that the duo were deliberating differences between the parties over the “friendly fights” in certain seats. The special meeting lasted approximately 25 minutes.  

Though Gehlot had declared that "all is well" within the INDIA bloc in Bihar, stating the "friendly contests" between alliance partners on a few seats in the assembly polls should not be viewed as discord within the coalition, the friendly fights are still posing a headache for the RJD-led coalition.  

Gehlot, the peacemaker

Gehlot’s entry into the electoral fray came amid reports that cracks are wide open in the alliance. The front’s decision not to declare the seat division and JMM’s decision not to contest had sparked a controversy.

Adding to the woes of the grand alliance was the fact that INDI Alliance  candidates were fighting each other at least eight assembly seats in the state  Narkatiaganj, Vaishali, Rajapakar, Rosera, Bachhwara, Kahalgaon, Biharsharif and Sikandara, thanks to the internal discord between the Congress, RJD, and  Left parties over seat-sharing arrangements.

It was following this that the Congress party decided to assign Rajasthan's former Chief Minister and Bihar Assembly Election Observer Ashok Gehlot the  responsibility of bridging the rift, especially between the RJD-Congress  relationship. Gehlot arrived in Patna on Wednesday following instructions from the high command.

Gehlot met with Tejashwi for about an hour. RJD chief Lalu Yadav also briefly  joined the meeting. Gehlot is said to have explained to Congress leaders, especially Krishna Alwaru, the Congress's Bihar in-charge, that the RJD's  position in Bihar was strong and it would only be wise to yield a little. He also batted for Tejashwi as the CM face as a "young face" would benefit the alliance.

Tejashwi also assured that the Congress would receive equal respect and that both parties would appear together in the campaign. At this meeting, an agreement was reached to present Tejashwi Yadav as the main campaign leader of the Grand Alliance.

India