The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav’s recent remarks against a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator has sharpened the divide between Hindutva on the one side and social justice and secular politics on the other in the poll-bound Bihar.
Responding to Madhubani’s Bisfi MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul, who appealed to Muslims to “stay indoors” on Holi if they felt offended at being forced to play with colours, Tejashwi said, “Who is Bachaul? He says that Muslims should stay indoors during Holi. Yahan uske baap ka raaj hai (is this his father’s rule)? Whether our party is in power or not, we will deal with such elements. Bachaul should know how Bihar dealt with his predecessors like Togadia. If communal elements try to harm a Muslim brother, five or six Hindu brothers will stand by him for protection.”
He further pointed fingers at Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar: “Where is the chief minister? He is lying unconscious, busy figuring out how to cling to power. We know how to handle such elements.”
Bachaul’s remarks against Muslims seem normalised in the context of a series of similar comments made by Hindutva leaders in recent times, but Tejashwi’s unapologetic retort has come at a time when a large section of opposition leaders have evaded engaging critically with a fairly common anti-minority political landscape.
Only a week ago, none other than Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister Adityanath lent his support to Anuj Kumar Choudhary, the Sambhal deputy superintendent of police who, like Bachaul, had asked Muslims to either stay home or step out with “large-heartedness” during Holi. Choudhary was warning Muslims that they could get smeared with colours but many observers believed that he was taking aim at Muslims during their holy month of Ramzan with a statement that normalised the BJP’s Hindu majoritarian politics.
While anti-Hindutva parties in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi criticised Adityanath and the Sambhal DSP, Tejashwi’s outburst went beyond mere criticism. His words unequivocally attacked the BJP’s Hindu majoritarianism, while also laying down a plan of action for his party’s cadre to take on the communal norms set in what is now known as “Yogi-Modi Raj”.
Lalu’s playbook
Tejashwi’s words followed the political playbook of his father, Lalu Prasad Yadav, who, during his tenure as chief minister, instilled fear among Hindutva hardliners. Lalu empowered his cadre – primarily the baton-wielding wrestlers among Yadavs – whom Hindutva radicals feared on the streets.
Tejashwi also recalled the fate of Praveen Togadia and Ashok Singhal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders who left no opportunity to spread hate against minorities during L.K. Advani’s Ram Rath Yatra in the early 1990s. After Advani’s arrest, Togadia and Singhal arrived at Patna airport, intending to tour Bihar and rally against the “humiliation” of the then-Hindu Hriday Samrat, Advani. However, Lalu refused to let them leave the airport, citing public anger against communal leaders. He said: “If they want to step out, they must ensure their own safety.” Faced with this, Singhal and Togadia chose discretion over valor and flew back within an hour. The BJP rank and file in Bihar felt humiliated but lacked the courage to challenge Lalu’s decision.
Social justice and secularism
Social justice and secularism form the core of the RJD’s political ideology. Tejashwi, as Lalu’s son and political heir, has introduced certain adjustments to its social justice plank to align with the aspirations of youth and the changing socio-political and economic realities. He has combined his push for 65% reservation for marginalised sections (a policy implemented under the Nitish-led mahagathbandhan government but currently stuck in the judiciary) with a strong focus on employment, healthcare, and infrastructure development.
He has reached out to higher education campuses through Delhi University professor and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha. Additionally, he has nominated Nawal Kishore, a professor at Rajdhani College, Delhi, along with Jawaharlal Nehru University scholars Jayant Jigyasu, Priyanka Bharti, and Kanchana Yadav as the party’s national spokespersons. He has called for making the RJD a party of “A to Z,” signifying the inclusion of all sections of society.
However, the young leader has chosen to uphold his father’s style of secularism. Tejashwi’s approach differs slightly from that of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. While Akhilesh includes minorities as part of his broader pichhara-Dalit-alpsankhyak (PDA) coalition, Tejashwi has raised strong concerns about human rights of alpsankhyak (minorities), while taking note of the Hindutva assault on them.
2025 elections
Unable to defeat Lalu in elections or on the streets in the 1990s, the BJP aligned itself with Nitish Kumar. Given Nitish’s secular background and socialist upbringing, the BJP – then led by A.B. Vajpayee and L.K. Advani – was compelled to moderate its Hindutva stance in Bihar to accommodate him.
For his part, Nitish Kumar prevented Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi from entering Bihar between 2005 and 2013 and kept the BJP’s extreme elements at bay, adhering to his principle of zero tolerance against “crime, corruption, and communalism.” However, radical elements within the BJP remained eager to implement in Bihar the kind of rule the party had established in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
With Adityanath’s rise and his bulldozer raj in Uttar Pradesh, coupled with Narendra Modi securing a third term as prime minister, Hindutva activists in Bihar are growing increasingly impatient. Bachaul’s “advice” to Muslims regarding Holi appears to reflect the Sangh Parivar cadre’s frustration over their failure to turn Bihar into another Uttar Pradesh or Gujarat.
Perhaps the declining physical and mental health of Nitish Kumar has emboldened Hindutva forces to push their radical agenda in the state with renewed vigour. “Ab nahin toh kab (If not now, then when)?” – is frequently heard in their private discussions.
Yet, Tejashwi has taken a calculated risk, much like his father did in the early 1990s. As documented in Gopalganj to Raisina – Lalu’s biography co-authored with this author – several senior Janata Dal leaders in Delhi had advised Lalu against arresting Advani, fearing it might fuel Hindu sentiment in favour of the BJP during Advani’s rath yatra. However, Lalu disregarded their warnings and dealt with the BJP sternly.
Tejashwi, it seems, has chosen to follow his father’s path – uncompromised and unfiltered.
Nalin Verma is a senior journalist and author. He teaches mass communication and creative writing at Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi.
