Bihar Elections 2020: RJD-Congress CM pick Tejashwi files nomination; assures 10 lakh jobs

Ahead of Bihar elections, Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav has filed nomination from his Raghopur seat on Wednesday. He has declared that after coming to power, in his first cabinet meet, his Mahagathbandhan government will sanction funds for 10 lakh jobs. Highlighting that people are missing former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav who is currently in jail after being convicted in fodder scam cases, Tejashwi stated that he has sought the blessings of his mother Rabri Devi and elder brother Tej Pratap.

In Raghopur, Tejashwi will be contesting against BJP's Satish Kumar, who incidentally, had trounced his mother Rabri Devi from the seat in the Sonepur district in 2010. Tej Pratap had filed his nomination from Hasanpur seat on Tuesday after abandoning his current Mahua seat amid rumors that his estranged wife Aishwariya Rai will contest from that seat. 

Watch Tejashwi seeking blessing from mother and brother: 

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Seat-sharing formula 

RJD will contest 144 seats in Bihar as the party agreed to a seat-sharing deal of 144-70 with the Congress. Three other Communist parties are also part of Mahagathbandhan and are contesting on 29 seats. Tejashwi Yadav has been declared its CM face. Bihar will vote in 3 phases - October 28, November 3, and November 7, with the results being declared on November 10.

READ | After Nitish's '7 Nishcay', Tejashwi & Tej Pratap Unveils '10 Gurantee' For Bihar Polls

Other parties in poll-fray

This year's Bihar elections will witness the clash of as many as five alliances. The ruling JDU-BJP is contesting along with Mukesh Sahni's VIP and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), while LJP has decided to go solo. The Mahagathbandhan led by RJD has lost many key allies and is contesting with Congress and three left parties, with Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi as CM face.

On 28 September, Pappu Yadav who is eyeing a comeback in politics of Bihar stitched an alliance of his party Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) with Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party', MK Faizi's Social Democratic Party and Bahujan Mukti Party. They named it the Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA). On the other side, confident after his party's victory in byelections, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has teamed up with Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP, Mayawati's BSP, Devendra Yadav's SJDD, and SBSP as the 'Grand Democratic Secular Front' to contest the upcoming polls. 

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READ | Bihar elections 2020: Tej Pratap Yadav abandons Mahua seat; files nomination from Hasanpur