Bihar Election 2020: From cricketer to political heir, the rise of Tejashwi Yadav

For the Yadav family, the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections may be the last chance at saving RJD's legacy and the weight lies heavy on Tejashwi Yadav’s shoulders.

Lalu Prasad Yadav’s younger son Tejashwi has been active in politics for seven years now but prior to that, he was a part of the Delhi Daredevils team for 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012 IPL editions.

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The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and the current Leader of Opposition in Bihar — who has also played a Ranji Trophy match for Jharkhand — is often criticised by the rival parties for being a Class 9 dropout. Tejashwi’s political career hasn’t been a smooth sail, much like his time on the cricket pitch. He made his electoral debut from Vaishali district in 2015 when RJD, Janata Dal (United), and the Congress came together under the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) to form government in Bihar.

He was appointed as the deputy chief minister under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. But in 2017, things went south for Tejashwi. Despite the RJD winning the highest number of seats in the Assembly Elections, Yadav lost his post after being booked in connection with the IRCTC corruption case.

Earlier in October 2020, an FIR was filed against Tejashwi, his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav and three others in Dalit leader Shakti Malik murder case. The FIR prompted Tejashwi to demand a public apology from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi for "baseless implications" ahead of the polls.

After the 2017 "betrayal" by ally Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi now stands against the stalwart chief minister and the onus is on him to strengthen Yadav family’s influence in Bihar politics.