If not Tejashwi, who else can be the CM face?: Azam Khan backs Lalu's son to lead Mahagathbandhan

Ajmer (Rajasthan) [India], October 25 (ANI): Samajwadi Party senior leader Azam Khan on Saturday backed the INDIA bloc's decision to project Tejashwi Yadav as its Chief Ministerial face, emphasising that the choice has the consensus of all alliance partners.

"I wish the best for our alliance. I hope they win. The atmosphere of fear and terror should end, and independence must be restored... This is the INDIA alliance's decision (Tejashwi Yadav has been declared as the CM face) and is acceptable to all. If not him, who else can be the CM face?" Khan told ANI.

This comes after senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot declared Tejashwi Yadav as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the Assembly elections in Bihar. Mukesh Sahani, who heads the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), has been named the Deputy CM nominee.

Opposition Mahagathbandhan will release its joint manifesto for the Bihar Assembly elections on October 28 in Patna, sources in the alliance told on Thursday.

Sources said that Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will also begin their campaign for the Bihar Assembly elections on October 28, after the Chhath Puja festival.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav will address joint rallies before the first Phase of voting and, after that, for the seats in the second Phase of voting, they added.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Friday, claiming that crime and corruption have increased in Bihar.

While pledging to rid Bihar of corruption and crime if he were elected, the RJD leader also claimed that the top five states in the nation that are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have the highest rates of crime.

Speaking to reporters in Patna, Yadav said, "We don't make broken, fragmented or false promises. We will do what we say... If Tejashwi Yadav becomes the Chief Minister, the people of Bihar will also become the Chief Minister. We will make Bihar free from crime and corruption..."The RJD leader asserted that when scams are happening across the state and no action has been taken, that is called "jungle raj".

"The Prime Minister himself listed 55 scams of Nitish Kumar. What action has been taken? When scams are happening and no action is being taken, that is jungle raj. There is not a single day in Bihar where there are no shootings, murders, looting, rapes, kidnappings...Uttar Pradesh has the highest crime rate in the entire country. Bihar is second. The top five BJP-ruled states in the entire country have the highest crime rate," Yadav claimed.

Bihar will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and 11. The results will be declared on November 14.