'Wait and watch,' says Tejashwi on INDIA bloc reaching out to former allies

NEW DELHI: Amid suspense over whether the TDP and JD(U) will join the opposition alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday asked people to "wait and watch."

Yadav, who travelled to Delhi from Patna in the same flight as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did, fuelling speculations if there were attempts to get him to the opposition's camp, said their interaction in the flight was limited to exchanging courtesies.

Asked if the opposition is looking at getting the numbers to stake claim for government formation, Yadav said, "We have come for the meeting today. Have patience, wait and watch what happens."

Yadav also said that Bihar has emerged as "kingmaker" in this election, and hoped that the "kingmaker" will ensure that the new government gives a special status to Bihar, conducts caste census across the country, and to put 75 percent reservation given by Bihar in the ninth schedule of the Constitution, which will exempt it from judicial review.

"Bihar has emerged as the kingmaker. Whichever government comes, the kingmaker should ensure that Bihar gets a special status, the 75 per cent reservation we gave, that should be brought under Schedule 9, and caste census should be conducted across the country," he said.

He also hailed the Samajwadi Party candidate's victory in Faizabad.

"We won Ayodhya. Prime Minister used hate speech against Muslims. Ram ji also taught him a lesson," he said.

"We are happy people of the country have voted to save Constitution and to give a lesson to the autocratic regime. The people of this country don't like politics of hatred. In last 10 years, Modi did not give any account of his work, so people taught a lesson," he said.

INDIA bloc leaders will meet at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence Wednesday evening to decide on the strategy to form the government.

Opposition leaders, including Sharad Pawar, M K Stalin, Champai Soren, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee, Sitaram Yechury, and D Raja are likely to attend the meeting, along with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.