Seat-sharing spat strains Rahul-Tejashwi ties

In August this year at the height of the Opposition’s campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi rode a jeep together, with the former in the driver's seat, during the Vote Adhikar Rally.

- Sunetra Choudhury

At rallies, Yadav called Gandhi his “bade bhai (elder brother)” and both spoke about a united battle against the government.

But now, a combination of bitterness over seat sharing and underwhelming internal Congress assessments of its performance in the Bihar assembly elections, may have driven a wedge between the two leaders and also affected Gandhi’s own campaign schedule, said close aides on condition of anonymity.

There may be just 10 days left for the elections to end, but the two leaders are likely to hold just one more joint rally, possibly on November 9, a Congress functionary said. This may be part of the four more days Gandhi spends campaigning in the state over the next two weeks, they added.

“They are civil to each other and they greeted each other but the earlier warmth was missing,” the Congress functionary said.

This comes after the Opposition Grand Alliance spent days squabbling over seats and is still facing so-called friendly fights in a dozen-odd seats. The coalition is hoping to deny chief minister Nitish Kumar a fifth straight term.