For Tejashwi, who led the Mahagathbandhan of opposition parties in the 2020 state elections and fell short of just 12 seats to the majority, this marked the official coronation as the party’s numero uno. (Express Photo by Prem Nath Pandey)
Jan 28, 2025 12:10 IST First published on: Jan 28, 2025 at 12:10 IST
Written by Pushpendra
On January 18, 2025, the national executive meeting of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) elevated the status of Tejashwi Yadav, putting him at par with the party president, Lalu Prasad, and authorising him to make decisions on crucial matters such as the party’s name, symbol, and programmes. An ailing Lalu Prasad also announced him as the party’s CM face for the upcoming state Assembly elections. For Tejashwi, who led the Mahagathbandhan of opposition parties in the 2020 state elections and fell short of just 12 seats to the majority, this marked the official coronation as the party’s numero uno. Besides decisively settling the question of succession, this move sends the message to voters that Tejashwi is now free from Lalu’s control and can step into Bihar’s politics with his own agenda. However, the challenges before Tejashwi are manifold, and his success will depend on how he deals with them.
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First, he will have to make massive efforts to get rid of the double stigma of being a “dynast” and inheriting a political legacy widely seen as “jungle raj” when his parents helmed the state for a good 15 years. Political dynasties have steadily been declining in state-level politics, with few exceptions. Tejashwi has been embarking on yatras to make direct connections with people and carve an image independent of his father.
However, organisationally, the party continues to be dominated by Yadavs. Unless Tejashwi rebuilds the party by replacing its traditional local leadership, which seems improbable at present, the stigma will stay. It also stays because, organisationally, the RJD is yet to become an inclusive party. Pasmanda Muslims, the extremely backward castes, scheduled castes, and women remain grossly under-represented — a persistent weakness of the party.
Second, Tejashwi needs to carry forward a new vision and agenda for Bihar development, building upon but not confined to largely worn-out “social justice”. During his brief stint as the state’s deputy chief minister, he tried to demonstrate his potential by delivering on two fronts — government jobs and caste census. Taking advantage of being in power, the current government has largely hijacked the first agenda by rolling out government jobs. While the government has not followed up on the caste census in any substantive manner, Tejashwi has yet to forward his agenda beyond calling for expanding reservations.
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Tejashwi has been talking about a vision and blueprint for the development of Bihar; there is yet no sign of that vision coming out in public. In recent months, he has copied the politics of so-called freebies by announcing that if voted to power, his government will give Rs 2,500 to women under a Mai-Behan Yojana, Rs 1,500 as widow and disability pensions, and 200 units of electricity free. While freebies are a recognition of the lack of sufficient income amongst a majority of people and may play a significant role in alleviating hardships in the short run, Tejashwi could do better by presenting how he plans to improve school, higher and technical education, public health, entrepreneurship, social infrastructure, THE law-and-order situation, safety of women and weaker sections, and pave the way for quality jobs, higher wages, and disaster mitigation.
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Third, Tejashwi will have to show maturity in nurturing the opposition coalition. The unease in the coalition is apparent as he does not want his “friendly” rivals to grow substantially. The lack of regular communication and meetings with coalition partners is conspicuous and does not help create trust between their specific social bases. Left parties in the coalition feel they would have added at least two more Lok Sabha seats last year had the RJD been prudent and acted selflessly. The need for a stronger coalition is greater this time with the entry of a new, formidable spoiler, the Jan Suraaj Party of Prashant Kishor, in addition to the old ones like the AIMIM and the BSP. The coalition parties will help him expand to more voters where each partner adds to specific social groups.
Tejashwi Yadav is standing at the cusp of Bihar politics. Nearly two decades of Nitish Kumar’s rule, including in coalition with the BJP, has lost its shine. Rampant and unprecedented corruption, a narrow focus on big-ticket infrastructure projects, low income for the overwhelming majority of households, unemployment, and rising communal strife have created the ground on which Tejashwi can claim his call for regime change. He must demonstrate that he is ready to create his own legacy rather than merely follow his father’s.
The writer is former Professor and Dean, Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai
