Tejashwi leads charge on road to 2025 assembly polls

PATNA: There was much at stake for the family of RJD chief Lalu Prasad in the Lok Sabha elections. His two daughters — Misa Bharti and Rohini Acharya – were contesting from Patliputra and Saran respectively, while younger son and political heir Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was leading the combined Opposition for the first time in a general election.After drawing a blank in the 2019 LS polls, RJD has managed to claw back lost ground by winning 4 of the 26 seats it fought, including Patliputra where Misa contested. Tejashwi has now set the tone for the assembly elections due next year; the verdict makes it clear that he will be the opposition’s face for Bihar CM against Nitish Kumar or a BJP candidate. In all, the RJD member and his allies (Congress and CPI-ML) have won 9 of the total 40 seats.Tejashwi has already had his share of ups and downs. After the 2015 state polls which RJD contested with JD(U), he became deputy CM. By sticking to an agenda of jobs, employment, education, and health, the 34-year-old Tejashwi generated a following among the youth. He largely succeed ed in conveying the message that it was he who facilitated “5 lakh jobs in 17 months” as deputy CM of Bihar.Tejashwi did not resort to personal attacks on Nitish when he lost his job after the JD(U) veteran parted ways with RJD in Jan this year. Instead, by refusing to needle Nitish, Tejashwi kept observers guessing. He provoked speculation about Nitish’s plans when he said that “chacha” would take a big decision after the June 4 poll results. It forced Nitish to make it clear in his public meetings that he would never part ways with BJP.Nitish’s about-turns have given Tejashwi an opportunity to emerge from the shadow of his father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad. He has established himself not only as the face of his party but also of the opposition bloc. The elections have also proved Tejashwi’s willingness to experiment by fielding candidates of castes other than those that traditionally dominate in a particular seat. He picked a Dalit candidate in a constituency meant for the general category. And he fielded Kushwaha candidates — who belong to Nitish’s caste — to dent the NDA vote bank. His ability to look beyond Lalu’s M-Y (Muslim-Yadav) formulation is expected to yield rich dividends in the long run.