Bihar Election: Is the possibility hidden for Tejashwi Yadav even in defeat?

Posted on 12th Nov 2020 by rohit kumar

Tejashwi Yadav could not form a government in Bihar, it is obvious. But in many ways, Tejashwi has given new strength to the Rashtriya Janata Dal and given new confidence. But many of his decisions have also been questioned.

 

Some of Tejaswi's strategies have also gone against him. It is now being discussed about leadership, not of their inexperience, but possibilities developed due to hard work. The election results also show that he has played a remarkable role in making the 'Grand Alliance' stand firmly in front of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

 

It was not an easy task to place RJD as the largest party in front of Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United (JDU) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has held state power for a decade and a half.

 

That too when Lalu Yadav, his father and RJD's surveyor, is in jail and has to contend with a lot of charges ranging from familyism to 'jungle raj'.

 

In such a case, 31-year-old Tejaswi must be praising his political opponents openly, not only, mind-to-heart.

 

Tejaswi turned election campaign

 

The biggest thing is that in the political environment of casteist, communal and criminal character, the election was seen to be doing its best to turn the election towards issues related to public concern.

 

In this endeavor, he was successful at least to the extent that the ruling coalition here was badly surrounded by questions of unemployment, education / medical system, labor migration, and increasing corruption.

 

Time and again the limits of linguistic dignity were violated in the ruse of the alleged Jungle Raj and his 'Yuvraj' of the old Lalu-Rabri Raj. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was ahead in making personal attacks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attacked Tejashwi.

 

Even on such an aggressive provocation, the stunning Yadav did not get agitated, did not lose restraint, and postponed the 'abuses' as a blessing, creating a sense of appreciation for them.

 

Especially when Tejashwi was setting the electoral agenda during his stormy campaign with issues related to many current issues including '10 lakh government jobs', the concern of the ruling party had started increasing.

 

Apart from this, the crowd in Tejashwi's election meetings also grew and it also created a worry in the ruling party.

 

During the entire campaign, Tejashwi's talk like connecting everyone above caste and religion and getting out of the long-term Lalu politics on 'Muslim-Yadav Janadhar' and getting into a broader thinking has given Tejashwi a distinct identity.

 

Omissions that could not reach power

 

Apart from contesting elections in the best way, there have been some such mistakes with the stunning, which proved to be a hindrance for the 'Grand Alliance' to reach power. Especially agreeing to give him candidacy for 70 seats under the pressure of the Congress, is considered his biggest mistake.

 

In this regard, the RJD has expressed its compulsion, in a hidden way, that the Congress had begun to indicate the separation from the 'Grand Alliance' if the seats were not given the desired number of seats.

 

Not only this, the discussion with JDU President Nitish Kumar about becoming a Congress contact and changing the equation after the election results was started publicly.

 

The second reason was also that when it was not possible to keep the parties associated with Jitan Ram Manjhi, Upendra Kushwaha, and Mukesh Sahni with the 'Mahagathbandhan', it was the compulsion of Tejaswi to keep the Congress together in any case. If this does not happen, there was a possibility of some split in Muslim votes and hope of lower-caste votes.

 

The second weakness is that the 'Mahagathbandhan' has not made any effective effort to uproot or reduce the deep penetration of the NDA among the extremely backward castes (called vote bank) in north Bihar. By showing a little generosity in giving election tickets for this community, Tejaswi became relaxed.

 

On the other hand, many questions were raised on the RJD in Seemanchal for candidate selection and there the advantage of this resentment in Muslim society was raised by Asaduddin Owaisi. Secondly, it could not succeed in retaliating with full vigor to the propaganda which created a fear like the return of 'Jungle Raj'.

 

Although more or less every party has been guilty of making candidates with criminal images, yet solid reasons for increasing such blame on RJD are visible. This time, Tejashwi could not remain free from the pressure of making candidates with tainted image, or his relatives. So Tejashwi will have difficulties in increasing the number of those who accept RJD.

 

What will be the way forward

 

Now the question arises that what will be the condition of this young leader who is just a few steps away from reaching the top of power in the state. The answer of course is that Tejashwi Yadav is ready to take his party forward in the politics of Bihar.

 

Lalu Yadav, in a strong alliance with JDU leader Nitish Kumar in the last assembly election, led the RJD to power with 80 seats. At that time, the political situation became very favorable for him because Nitish Kumar's prepared vote bank was also useful for him.

 

Now it does not seem that without the support of Lalu Yadav, Tejashwi is not able to strengthen his politics. In the face of many adverse situations, he has given tough competition to the ruling coalition alone with his hard work and understanding. This shows that in the future, the BJP's current rise in Bihar can be challenged only by the Tejashwi-led Rashtriya Janata Dal.

 

The efficiency with which Tejashwi kept the Left parties connected with his 'grand alliance' benefited both the RJD and the Left. So it seems that both of them would like to continue this relationship in the future. But there has been a rift in the relationship between Congress and RJD.

 

One more thing that is important is that if Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) President Chirag Paswan emerges and becomes effective in Bihar politics, it will be a challenging situation for Tejashwi too. Especially because there is still no effective leadership in the RJD from the depressed class.

 

Secondly, Chirag is also young and he has taken a role to expand his political land in Bihar by taking it out of the Dalit realm. Neither can come together because the desire for leadership and domination will come in the way.

 

Overall, it can be said that this election-result has given the stunning shock to miss the opportunity by taking it very close to power, but the opportunity has been lost for them. In this, the possibility for them can also be hidden.