In the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition and a prominent figure in the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), faces challenges not only from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) (JDU) but also from his elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, who has been expelled from the party. Tej Pratap is creating new obstacles for Tejashwi daily. Outcast from the party and family, Tej Pratap is fighting for his political survival, employing various tactics that could disrupt Tejashwi Yadav’s political game.
Tej Pratap Yadav’s political battle with Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav began when the former Bihar minister was expelled from the party for six years on May 25, due to his ‘relationship’ with a woman. He later deleted a social media post and claimed his page was ‘hacked’.
Lalu Prasad severed ties with Tej Pratap due to his ‘irresponsible behavior’. After being ousted from the party, Tej Pratap accused individuals of plotting against him and his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav, and subsequently unfollowed his sisters on social media.
Tej Pratap has announced an alliance to contest the upcoming elections. He has announced an alliance with five smaller parties: Bhojpuria Jan Morcha (BJM), Vikas Vanchit Insan Party (VVIP), Sanyukt Kisan Vikas Party (SKVP), Pragatisheel Janata Party (PJP), and Wajib Adhikar Party (WAP).
Although the support base of the political parties with whom Tej Pratap Yadav has announced an alliance is very limited, political analysts suggest that this could be enough to upset Tejashwi Yadav’s plans, as Tej Pratap Yadav is also talking about social justice, social rights, and complete transformation in Bihar. He is not directly attacking Tejashwi Yadav but is accusing them of conspiring against him using words like ‘traitors’.
He is also inviting the RJD and Congress to join the alliance, stating that they are welcome to join. Similar to the RJD and Congress, he is dismissing any possibility of an alliance with the BJP, citing ideological differences. He asserts his commitment to his principles, that social justice is his path, and that he understands how it should be adopted.
It seems that Tej Pratap Yadav is following the path of Asaduddin Owaisi’s party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). After the AIMIM’s initial attempts to join the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) were unsuccessful, the AIMIM began efforts to form a Third Front in Bihar. However, Tej Pratap Yadav announced his own alliance before the AIMIM could establish its front. This makes the upcoming election even more competitive.
On one side, the NDA is in the fray with Nitish Kumar and the BJP, and on the other side, the Mahagathbandhan consists of the Congress, RJD, Left parties, and Mukesh Sahani’s party. The third alliance is Tej Pratap Yadav’s, and the fourth is being spearheaded by Owaisi’s party, the AIMIM.
Bihar AIMIM president Akhtarul Iman stated that his party will announce a separate alliance after August 15th. He will reveal which parties are included in the alliance at that time. In the previous assembly elections, the AIMIM had allied with the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, BSP, Samajwadi Party Janata Dal (Democratic), Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, and Janvadi Party Socialist.
All these opposition parties’ votes belong to Muslims, Dalits, backward classes, and other backward classes. If several alliances are formed by the opposition leaders, this will somewhere divide the votes against the BJP and JDU, which would be detrimental to the Mahagathbandhan and beneficial to the NDA led by the BJP and Nitish Kumar.
Although many political analysts are not ready to give much importance to Tej Pratap Yadav’s alliance, as Tej Pratap Yadav has not yet proven himself politically mature like Tejashwi Yadav, and Lalu Prasad’s displeasure with him is also not in his favor. Lalu Prasad has declared Tejashwi Yadav as his successor.
In such a situation, if there is a direct competition between Tejashwi and Tej Pratap in Bihar’s politics, the advantage is likely to go to Tejashwi Yadav. He also has the support of established parties like the Congress and the Left parties, who have a strong base, which will further boost his confidence.
