Tejashwi Yadav is leaving little doubt that he would be the chief minister face of the Opposition INDIA bloc aka Mahagathbandhan, though a formal announcement has not been made yet.

From solo yatras to headline-grabbing promises, the 35-year-old RJD leader – and younger son of Lalu Prasad – has been shaping the Opposition bloc’s campaign around himself.

His campaign has made one thing clear: the Mahagathbandhan has found its CM face, even if it has not declared it officially.

But the Mahagathbandhan has been grappling with internal strains over seat-sharing. Both the RJD and Congress have released separate lists, with overlapping candidates in eight constituencies.

RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said on Sunday that “friendly contests” could not be ruled out.

Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot travelled to Patna on Wednesday to mediate between the allies.

“There can be a friendly fight in some seats. The process is moving forward. We will hold a press conference, and the situation will be cleared. All the confusion will be cleared,” Gehlot told ANI before leaving for Bihar.

The current seat distribution stands at RJD (143), Congress (55), CPI (ML) (20), CPI (6), CPM (4) and VIP (15). The Bihar Assembly has 243 seats.

On October 12, it was reported that the Mahagathbandhan alliance may release a joint manifesto in a week. Ten days have passed, there is no joint manifesto.

But Tejashwi seems undeterred. He is on a promise spree in his campaign.

Addressing reporters Wednesday, Tejashwi announced that all contract workers employed across Bihar government departments will be made permanent if the INDIA bloc forms the next government.

Around two lakh “community mobilisers” among the Jeevika Didis — women associated with the World Bank-aided Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP) — will also be given permanent status and a monthly salary of Rs 30,000 and interest on loans taken by them will be waived.

“They (contract workers) are exploited since they carry out all the government work. They are terminated without informing them of the reason. All these employees working in the state will be made permanent. We will work to give them the status of permanent government staffers,” Yadav said.

He also promised two new initiatives, the BETI and MAA schemes.

“B for Benefit, E for Education, T for Training and I for Income. This means that from the moment our daughters are born, a separate program will be run for them until they earn income. We will also implement the MAA Yojana — M for Makaan, A for Ann (food) and A for Aamdani (income). What Bihar needs now is economic justice,” Yadav said.

Yadav has vowed to enact a law guaranteeing at least one government job per household within 20 months of forming the government.

“My government will pass an Act within 20 days of government formation and in the next 20 months, not a single household will be without a government job,” he said. “In 20 months, Tejashwi will ensure that every family without a government job gets one.”

Yadav has suggested that his pledges are not unrealistic and his promises hinge on his past performance.

“We have studied this scientifically, we have data on all families that do not have at least one member in government service. If we are making this announcement, it is my pledge that we are promising only what is possible,” he said.

Tejashwi claims to have created five lakh government jobs during his brief 17-month stint as deputy chief minister in alliance with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United).

“Five lakh government jobs were provided. Imagine how many more would have got jobs had I been able to complete my five-year term,” he said.

Tejashwi also does not believe there is disunity in the mahagathbandhan.

“There are no disputes. You will get all the answers tomorrow,” Tejashwi told reporters.

Gehlot has said a news conference will be held on Thursday to update about the current situation.

The buzz suggests that the Congress may also endorse Tejashwi as the chief ministerial face.

“There is no option other than Tejashwi as chief minister in Bihar,” Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh had said on October 18.

The ruling NDA has already trained its guns on Yadav, a sign that it sees him as the key challenger.

“His mother and father looted the people of Bihar for 15 years. They couldn’t provide govt jobs to 1 lakh people when in power...The entire Bihar knows that these people only show dreams, and that they are known only to loot Bihar,” said Bihar deputy CM Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday in response to Tejashwi’s poll promises.

Tejashwi filed his nomination papers from the Raghopur Assembly seat, the family’s political bastion from where both his parents, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, had served as MLAs (and chief ministers).

The Bihar Assembly elections will be held on November 6 and 11, and counting of votes will take place on November 14.