Tejashwi on cusp of larger roles

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, 31, isn’t likely to be pleased with how the events have unfolded in Patna. Just as he had emerged as a leader in his own right, Yadav will have to play second fiddle to Nitish Kumar.

However, Yadav isn’t the pushover who served as the deputy CM under Kumar between 2015-17.

In the 2020 Bihar Assembly polls, Yadav rose to the challenge of nearly defeating the BJP-JD(U) combine, taking on the combined might of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Kumar and others.

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In the elections, Yadav led a tireless campaign around livelihood issues, particularly joblessness, to appeal to the youth across caste lines. He overcame his party’s traditional stress on the ‘MY’ or Muslim-Yadav support base.

The RJD not only emerged as the single-largest party but increased its vote share, which had been diminishing for nearly a decade.

In the aftermath of that win, with his father Lalu Prasad ailing and facing corruption cases and jail terms, Yadav took up the party’s reins.

He also resolved issues with his siblings and performed creditably as the leader of the opposition in the Bihar legislature. On June 29, Yadav exhibited his political astuteness when he had four of the five AIMIM MLAs defect to the RJD, reclaiming the status of the single largest party in the Assembly.

The AIMIM had hurt the RJD-led alliance in several seats in 2020. On the brighter side for him, with Kumar looking at a national role, it could leave Yadav to run the Bihar government.