10 Janpath Back In The Reckoning As Tejashwi Yadav Decides To Pay Sonia A “Courtesy” Call

Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav’s meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi (Aug 12), three days after he took oath along with Nitish Kumar has come as a booster dose to the secular alliance. The Mahagatbandhan government will face a floor test on August 24. Bihar Congress leaders described Tejashwi’s visit as a courtesy call and said specifics of portfolios of Congress ministers would not be discussed. Congressmen are delighted with the Yadav scion’s visit, as 10 Janpath is back in the reckoning. After all it was Sonia who had played a crucial role in forming the Nitish-Tejashwi government. Reportedly, Nitish had reached out to Sonia when she was battling Covid in early June. While discussing her health, Nitish had shared with her how the BJP was trying to break his party. Sonia had asked him to contact Rahul Gandhi as well. Nitish had asked Tejashwi to get in touch with Rahul. Years ago, Rahul had taken out Tejashwi for lunch. But, Rahul will not be part of Sonia-Tejashwi meet. Even as all 19 Congress MLAs want to be ministers, a section of Bihar leaders are keen that the party does not join Nitish-Tejashwi and like the Left parties they should provide outside support. “Whenever we have shared power with RJD, Congress has lost. Whether in 2005 or in 2015, our tally has always gone down,” says AICC member Kishore Jha.