Tejashwi Yadav says NDA spent Rs 40,000 crore to win Bihar elections; Prashant Kishor moves SC over polls

In ‘Lok-tantra’ (democracy) Lok haara, tantra jeeta (people were defeated, while machinery won). You reduced Lok-tantra (democracy) to darr-tantra', the former deputy CM said.

Patna: Breaking his silence after a crushing defeat three months back, former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday charged that the NDA spent Rs 40,000 crore to defeat the Mahagatbandhan during the November 2025 Assembly polls.

Participating in the debate on motion of thanks to the Governor’s reply, Tejashwi slammed the NDA regime in the state when he said that they spent a whopping Rs 40,000 crore as sops in the run up to the polls. He focused his angst particularly on the Rs 10,000 dole given to each of the 1.4 crore women even when the model code of conduct had come into force.

“In ‘Lok-tantra’ (democracy) Lok haara, tantra jeeta (people were defeated, while machinery won). You reduced Lok-tantra (democracy) to darr-tantra (rule of fear and intimidation),” said Tejashwi, while lashing out at the Nitish regime.

Incidentally, Tejashwi was allowed to sit and speak as he had got his foot thumb nail operated recently and was facing difficulty in standing and speaking.

Tejashwi, who was declared the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Mahagatbandhan, took a jibe at Nitish for doling out Rs 10,000 each to over 1 crore women. “And in Uttarakhand, where the BJP is in power, the husband of a BJP minister Rekha Arya had the audacity of making unsavoury remarks about Bihar marriageable girls that they are bikau (saleable). Neither you condemned nor any action was taken against the BJP leader,” said Tejashwi, adding that Bihar asmita (pride) should not be compromised.

“Today you may have rode to power. But a time will come when we will also govern. ‘Hamara bhi waqt aayega’ (Our time will also come),” said Tejashwi even as Bihar Deputy CM and senior BJP leader Vijay Sinha tried to deride him by raking up the slogan ‘Chara chor’ ( in reference to Lalu’s conviction in fodder scam).

PK moves SC to cancel Bihar polls

Meanwhile, poll strategist-turned-politician and founder of Jan Suraaj, Prashant Kishor has moved the Supreme Court challenging Bihar Assembly election and sought fresh polls.

The petition of PK, as Prashant is fondly known, will come up for hearing on February 6 before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi.

The move assumes significance in the sense that the NDA won 202 seats in the crucial Bihar polls while the RJD-led Mahagatbandhan could scrape through in only 35 seats in the 243-member House. The Jan Suraaj, PK’s political outfit, contested on all seats but won none.

Jan Suraaj has pleaded in the petition that Bihar Government violated the model code of conduct by transferring Rs 10,000 each to over 1 crore women in the name of Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojna which was inducement as pre-poll sop and turned the tide in NDA’s favour. Therefore, the polls should be cancelled and held afresh, says the petition in the apex court.