Bihar elections: Tejashwi leaves for Delhi as RJD begins review

Amid the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) review meeting over the party’s defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections, party leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday left for Delhi without addressing media persons.

In the State Assembly elections, for which results were announced on November 16, the Opposition RJD won 25 seats out of the 143 it contested under the mahagathbandhan alliance. The party, though, secured 23% of the vote share. The Bihar Assembly has a total strength of 243 members.

The party on November 26 began its review meeting at the party headquarters in Patna under the chairmanship of State RJD president Mangani Lal Mandal, seeking feedback from party leaders, workers and local leaders over the reasons for defeat in the recently held Assembly elections. The division-wise review meeting is being held in two phases and is scheduled to culminate on December 9.

“Leaders from different divisions of the State are called to get their feedback every day. Yesterday [November 26] the Magadh division party leaders were called and the party not only sought reason for its defeat but also asked them steps to be taken for future,” party spokesperson Ejaz Ali Ahmad said. Bihar has a total of nine divisions and on Thursday, “party leaders from Saran district were called, while from Purnea division RJD leaders would be coming to the review meeting on Friday,” he added.

Party sources, however, told The Hindu that “the details gathered during the review meeting will be analysed pointwise and presented before the party’s top leadership for further action”. The party, said sources, “may take firm actions and major changes based on the feedbacks of the review meeting”. “The party, in fact, is trying to get whether the losses were from failures of internal coordination, broader organisational weakness or flawed electoral strategies,” party sources said.

Meanwhile, party leader Tejashwi Yadav, who before the Assembly elections was projected by the Opposition mahagathbandhan as the chief ministerial face, left for Delhi on November 27 without addressing waiting media persons. Party leaders, seeking anonymity, however, told The Hindu that Mr. Yadav “would soon be in Patna and participate in the review meeting perhaps on the last day”. Ever since RJD’s defeat in the election, Mr. Yadav has kept mum, refusing to address media persons. Seeking anonymity, a party leader added that Mr. Yadav these days “has to grapple with uncalled for situations both at family and political level so he is not speaking to media persons deliberately”.

The State government recently asked Mr. Yadav’s mother, Rabri Devi, who is also former Chief Minister of the State, to vacate her official residence at 10, Circular Road and shift to the newly allotted 39, Harding Road bungalow. Ms. Devi has been living with her husband and former Chief Minister, party chief Lalu Prasad, and others at the 10, Circular Road residence for two decades. The government has also asked Mr. Yadav’s estranged elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, to vacate his official bungalow after he lost the Assembly election from Mahua constituency in Vaishali district. However, the State RJD president, Mangani Lal Mandal, had asserted that “Ms. Devi would not vacate her official residence at 10, Circular Road at any cost as she has been asked to vacate her bungalow out of political vendetta”. But Tejashwi Yadav is yet to make any comment on the government’s order to shift the official residence of his mother or elder brother.