Patna, 17 Aug

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday made it clear that in Bihar, where his Voter Adhikar Yatra was kicked off, he would like Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD to be in the driving seat.

At one point of the rally, Yadav drove a jeep with Gandhi on the passenger seat.

Tejashwi, the INDIA bloc's de facto chief ministerial candidate in the elections due later this year, joined Rahul Gandhi at Sasaram where the Yatra was flagged off and the two leaders were together till they retired for the day in Aurangabad.

In his speeches, Tejashwi, a former deputy CM of Bihar, referred to Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha as "hamare bade bhai (my elder brother)".

For most part of the day, the two leaders sat together atop an open vehicle, waving at the crowds that stood on both sides of the road.

However, at one place, Gandhi decided that they move forward in a jeep with Yadav behind the steering wheels.

The picture was complete with junior alliance partners, CPI(ML) general secretary DipankarBhattacharya and Vikassheel Insan Party president Mukesh Sahni, settling on the rear seat.

The sight was reminiscent of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which passed through Bihar last year, barely a month before the Lok Sabha polls.

Political commentators were left wondering whether the intent was to send across the message that Gandhi would fully back Tejashwi in the polls, notwithstanding claims of NDA leaders like Union Minister Chirag Paswan that the Congress had grown "ambitious".

The RJD leader, on his part, seemed pleased with the way things were going. He shared a picture of himself driving along his allies, all of them his senior in terms of age, on his X handle.

"Let's take Bihar on the path of justice, economic equality, industralisation and inclusive development", wrote the RJD leader, by way of caption.