“He can be called a remarkable man who stands out from those around him by the resourcefulness of his mind and who knows how to be restrained in the manifestations that proceed from his nature while conducting himself justly and tolerantly towards the weaknesses of others,” writes philosopher George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. A quote that would suit the opposition leader in Bihar, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.
In a world of persistent players in politics, Tejashwi Yadav became a game changer in the Lok Sabha elections 2024. He changed the game and did not let the game change him. He converted the Bihar assembly elections into a neck-to-neck battle. Despite the prevailing National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with 125 seats and Mahagatbandhan with 110, he managed to earn the largest voting percentage in the assembly elections and made Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) the single largest party with 77 seats; with this, he also established himself as a new leader who understands the hopes and needs of people.
Before the beginning of the 2024 elections, many observers remarked that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal-United (JDU) would comfortably win elections after Nitish Kumar parted ways with RJD. But the momentum built by Tejashwi Yadav quaved all these observations as if they did not exist at all! By the end of the Loksabha elections, he has completed 251 rallies single handedly. Without any rest for 57 days with a spine injury, he did 92 meetings and 160 media briefings and interviews.
In various election rallies, he can be heard saying, “Tum mujhe vote do, mai tumhe naukri dunga” repeatedly. Undoubtedly, unemployment has created tremendous anger among youngsters who are overaged or remain unemployed due to constant paper leaks, few vacancies, privatisation, and the introduction of schemes like Agneever that created angry veers.
In April, CSDS-Lokniti released its pre-poll survey after tracking the behaviour of India’s voters for decades, where unemployment was the single most important issue for voters in 2024. 29% of the people surveyed said unemployment would be the most significant factor in deciding their vote. Hence, holding up to the issue of unemployment was just and prudent as well.
The second biggest issue was the price rise, affecting marginalised sections. Still, the Modi-led Union government paid no heed to it and instead adhered to its traditional politics of playing up with religious devotion. But the saffron dusk of BJP was weakened by the dawn of ideal politics of social justice issues by caste census, economic justice by job procurement, etc. Promises made by Tejashwi for one crore jobs appear to be taken earnestly by youth as the discourse of 5 lakh jobs given during his tenure as minister for 17 months echoes in Bihar, and their hope for jobs stems from this recruitment.
The election began with the BJP’s 400 paar slogans and ended with the PM’s ignominious usage of words like Mutton, Machli, and Mangalsutra, ending at Mujra. On the other hand, was a 34-year-old youngster who adroitly grabbed the baton and sprinted, holding unemployment, inflation, and caste census. Despite his health woes, he continued rallies, asserting, “If I don’t fight for you now, then you will have to suffer poverty, price rise, and unemployment for five years. I will not rest till I ensure jobs for youth.” Implementing the Mandal Commission’s unfulfilled demands and introducing reservation in the private sector was an issue that reinstates the belief that RJD and social justice are always in tune.
Besides the issue of unemployment and inflation, he tried to expand his electoral base with the slogan of MY+BAAP, where BAAP meant Bahujan, Agra, Aadhi Aabadi, and Poor. Giving seven tickets to the Kushwaha community was another quick-witted move. INDIA bloc marched Shravan Kushwaha in Nawada, Abhay Kushwaha in Aurangabad, and Alok Kumar Mehta in Ujiarpur, all from the RJD; Anshul Avijit of the Congress in Patna Saheb; Rajaram Singh of the CPI(ML) in Karakat; CPI(M)’s Khagaria candidate Sanjay Kumar; and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) candidate Rajesh Kushwaha in East Champaran. In comparison, the BJP fielded none. This move may be able to crack the core voter base of Nitish Kumar. Chandrahas Chaupal, hailing from a Dalit community, was also made to contest from the general seat in Supaul, which appeared like a hen’s teeth.
Though BJP talked about giving equal representation to women during ticket distribution in the polls, the talk appeared to be a false promise. BJP did not field a single woman candidate in the State. On the other hand, the INDIA bloc gave seven tickets to women, whereas RJD gave six tickets solely out of the 23 seats it was contesting.
But the question still lingering in the political arena is, “Will making unemployment a crucial plank be able to garner expected votes”? This is to be seen on June 4, but it must be acknowledged that Tejashwi, like a counterguirella did not dwindle even after Nitish Kumar joined his hands with the BJP. Instead, with a positive and progressive energy, he traveled 38 districts in a span of 12 days, covering 3500 km by road. The humongous gathering of more than a million people at the end of Jan Vishwas Yatra in Gandhi Maidan was historical indeed!
It’s tremendously difficult for sons to flourish in politics when their father is an iconic, charismatic leader. Still, Tejashwi managed to come out of the shadow of Lalu Prasad Yadav and create his meaningful political career as a leader who fixed his eyes on the issue of unemployment, like Arjuna from Mahabharata.
Priyanka Bharti (@priyanka2bharti) is an RJD spokesperson. The views expressed are her own.