Tejashwi Yadav's Journey: Bihar’s Young Leader With Old Roots And New Vision

Even before Tejashwi Yadav—the chief ministerial face of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)—could brace himself for the political battle ahead of the Bihar elections scheduled at the end of this year, he had to pick up a different kind of battle—against the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Among the leaders associated with the INDIA bloc and the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), Yadav has emerged as a prominent voice who has been actively voicing his concerns against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which seeks to include the names of eligible citizens in the voter list while removing the ineligible ones.

Yadav, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, has termed the ECI’s “controversial” exercise a move that could potentially benefit the ruling BJP. While addressing the Grand Alliance workers at the Bharat Bandh rally on July 9 he said that on the directions of the Prime Minister and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the names of the poor are being removed from the voter list.

With Yadav turning the ECI’s attempt to revise the electoral rolls into an affront to Bihari pride, the controversy now appears set to become one of the biggest polarised political debates in the run-up to the Assembly polls. Will it help him have a political edge? He is, after all, as per pre-poll surveys, the most favourite candidate to be the CM.

What might actually work in his favour is that the people, especially in his constituency Raghopur, are in favour of voting for him again, not because he is the son of Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi, but because they feel his approach is pro-development. At Bajrang Chowk in Lityahi village of Raghopur, Ramasare Rai, 55, was reading aloud promises written on a poster—200 units of free electricity, reservations, monthly honorarium for women, lakhs of new jobs and freedom from migration. A smiling face of Tejashwi was embossed on the other side of the poster.

Rai is a loyal Yadav supporter, having voted for Lalu and Rabri in the past. He voted for Tejashwi in the last two elections and is determined to vote for him again in the hope that he will become the chief minister. “Youths from all castes are associating with him. He carries his father’s political legacy and, at the same time, portrays an image of a development-driven leader,” says Rai.

Born on November 9, 1989, in Phulwaria, Gopalganj district, the youngest son of Lalu and Rabri shoulders the heaviest political legacy of the family, signified by his decision to contest from Raghopur, considered to be the family’s stronghold. Out of the last six elections, the RJD has held the seat five times.

Both Lalu and Rabri have been MLAs and chief ministers from Raghopur. Now, Tejashwi is gearing up for a third consecutive win from the same seat. He first became an MLA, winning the 2015 Bihar Assembly election, representing the Grand Alliance.

He became the deputy CM and was minister for public works, forestry and environment in the fifth Nitish Kumar cabinet. In the 2020 Bihar elections, he was the chief ministerial candidate of the Grand Alliance, which was unable to form the government, and he was elected as the Leader of the Opposition.

In 2022, after Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP and the NDA and rejoined the Grand Alliance, Tejashwi took oath as the deputy CM. However, in 2024, Nitish left the Grand Alliance, effectively terminating Tejashwi’s tenure as deputy CM yet again.

Unemployment has been a major political issue in Bihar. During his second stint as the deputy CM, Tejashwi focused only on jobs. Ahead of the 2020 Assembly elections, he promised to give government jobs to 10 lakh people. The RJD claims to have given jobs to five lakh people in 17 months. Nitish’s flip ended his tenure abruptly, but people are associating Tejashwi with someone who could provide jobs.

Political analysts believe Tejashwi has not only inherited Lalu’s legacy but also carved out his own identity in the past decade. Before stepping into the political arena, Tejashwi had to prove his mettle on a cricket pitch. He captained the Delhi Under-15 team, playing alongside Virat Kohli, and later represented the Under-17 and Under-19 teams.

Though he was part of the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, he never made it to the playing XI. From a failed cricketing career, he transitioned into politics with remarkable success. Though he first made an appearance during the 2010 Bihar elections, he was known as Lalu’s son. The 2015 Assembly elections, when he became the youngest deputy CM at 26, was a gamechanger.

This was the period during which Lalu led the entire election campaign of the Grand Alliance and had full control over the RJD. However, in 2017, when Nitish joined the BJP, Tejashwi had to contest the elections in Lalu’s absence, who was in Ranchi jail, convicted in the fodder scam.

He was also battling ill health. In the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, for the first time since 1977, Lalu stayed away from any election meeting. He wrote an emotional letter from jail, saying: “I am imprisoned, but my thoughts are not. This is the first election in 44 years in which I am not amongst you. Everything is at stake in this election.”

Despite initial doubts about the Grand Alliance’s ability to survive without Lalu, Tejashwi led a high-energy campaign. He not only led the Grand Alliance in the three-phase Bihar elections, but also kept Lalu’s legacy firmly intact.

Tejashwi’s popularity has surged in recent years. He is considered to be the strongest face in the race for CM. A recent survey showed 41 per cent of respondents preferred him as CM, ahead of Nitish Kumar (18), Prashant Kishor (15), Samrat Chaudhary (8) and Chirag Paswan (4).

Political analyst Mahendra Suman believes that Tejashwi has registered his presence in the generational shift in Bihar’s leadership. “He proved his leadership in the 2020 elections under the toughest conditions. Modi’s popularity soared between 2014 and 2019, Lalu was in jail and we were in the middle of a pandemic. He managed to shift the election discourse toward employment and development,” he says.

Tejashwi is also attempting to reposition the RJD beyond its traditional MY (Muslim-Yadav) vote base. Bihar’s politics has been divided into two axes—upper and lower castes. In the 1990s, Lalu reportedly coined the slogan—‘Bhura Bal Saaf Karo’, through which he urged people to wipe out Bhumihars, Rajputs, Brahmins and Kayasths—all upper castes.

The RJD suffered losses in the subsequent elections as the upper castes started moving away. In the recent years, Tejashwi has been emphasising that the RJD is the party of MY-BAAP (Bahujan, upper caste and half the population—women, poor).

After the caste survey report was made public, Tejashwi shifted its focus to the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) population—the core voters of Nitish. They have the highest share of the population in the state—36 per cent. To appease these voters, the RJD anointed veteran socialist leader and former MP Mangani Lal Mandal—a scion of the Dhanuk caste, listed among the EBCs—as its new state president in June.

On the political turf, people continue to target him for being Lalu’s son. “While Lalu’s legacy has been Tejashwi’s strength, it is also a weakness. Accusations of jungle raj and the fodder scam continue to shadow him. Critics also point to his educational background, having failed class nine, as a vulnerability,” notes Suman.

He has also been facing challenges from within the family. His elder brother, Tej Pratap, has embarrassed the family on many occasions. The political ambitions of his sisters Misa Bharti and Rohini Acharya are also a challenge. “Tejashwi is not as accessible as Lalu was. If Tejashwi remains the way he is now, it could prove to be detrimental,” says Suman.

In the past ten years, Tejashwi’s hold on the RJD has strengthened. This has led to many loyalists being sidelined. “Veteran leaders like Shivanand Tiwari, Jagdanand Singh and late Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who were once close allies of Lalu, have been marginalised. Many young faces are now a part of the RJD,” says senior journalist Syed Shahroz Qamar.

For now, the RJD cadre is confident, with Tejashwi at the helm. “People are seeing Lalu’s shadow in Tejashwi. Hence, wherever he goes for campaigning, the crowd follows. People from all castes and social strata are rooting for him and want to see him as a chief minister,” says Bihar RJD state general secretary Mohammad Fayaz Alam Kamal.

(Translated by Kaveri Mishra)

In Jungle Raj, Outlook’s August 1 issue, we explored why the Bihar elections matter so much. Our reporters delved into the state’s caste equations, governance records, electoral controversies and national ambitions, along with taking a hard look at the law and order situation— all of which make the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections one of the most consequential state polls of this electoral cycle. The article appeared as 'A Little Bit Of Lalu'.

Md Asghar Khan is senior correspondent from Jharkhand.