1997: Lalu Prasad Yadav, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Abdul Bari Siddiquii, Kanti Singh and others gather in Delhi to form the Rashtriya Janata Dal, breaking away from the Janata Dal. Lalu Prasad Yadav is elected as the first president.
1998: RJD wins 18 seats from Bihar in the Lok Sabha polls. Forms an alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav led Samajwadi Party, but fails to garner support.
1999: Allies with the UPA before the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. Wins a meagre seven seats, with Lalu Prasad Yadav losing his seat of Madhepura.
2000: Wins majority in the 2000 Vidhan Sabha Elections winning 124 seats. Rabri Devi, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s wife becomes the CM of Bihar.
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2004: Becomes a part of the Congress-led UPA, and wins 21 seats in the 2004 Lok Sabha Polls, Lalu Prasad Yadav becomes the Railway Minister in the UPA government.
2005: RJD underperforms in both state assembly elections held, and loses power in the state, winning only 54 seats in the polls held later in the year. Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family are charged in a corruption case for illegally receiving prime property from the bidder for awarding the Railway tender during Yadav's tenure as Railway Minister.
2009: Alliance with UPA falls apart over seat-sharing issues preceding the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. RJD allies with Samajwadi Party but performs poorly, winning just four seats in Bihar.
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2010: Ends their alliance with SP and fails to get majority in 2010 Bihar Assembly polls, securing 22 seats.
2014: RJD rejoins the Congress-led UPA before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, but fails to etch a mark, winning only four seats out of 40 in Bihar.
2015: Proposal for a Janata Parivar Alliance bringing together JD(U), RJD, JD(S), Samajwadi Party (SP), Indian National Lok Dal and Samajwadi National Party is initiated, but falls apart with SP leaving the national alliance over seat share for the 2015 assembly polls. Pappu Yadav is expelled from the party over connection with BJD. RJD allies with JD(U) for the Bihar Assembly Polls, forming the Mahagathbandhan, and wins 80 seats, becoming the single largest party. Tejashwi Yadav, Lalu’s son becomes the Deputy CM to CM Nitish Kumar.
2017: Alliance with JD(U) falls apart over Tejashwi’s refusal to step down as Deputy CM in the wake of corruption charges. RJD’s stake in the state government ends as Nitish Kumar and JD(U) join hands with NDA.
2020: The Mahagathbandhan alliance fails to deliver narrowly in the 2020 Bihar polls winning 110 seats against NDA’s 125, despite the RJD winning 75 seats. Incumbent CM Kumar is elected CM of the NDA government in Bihar.
2022: Announcing rejoining Mahagathbandhan comprising RJD, INC, CPI and other independents, a new governing coalition is formed in the state. Nitish Kumar breaks the alliance with the BJP and resigns as chief minister, revoking his party from the NDA. Kumar is sworn in as the CM of the new coalition.
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2023: Becomes a member of the opposition INDIA bloc to contest against the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
2024: JD(U) ends alliance with RJD and INC in Bihar, rejoining the NDA in January. RJD loses footing in the government again with the formation of the NDA government in the state.
