As Tejashwi Yadav mopes, RJD stares at oblivion in Bihar

The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader has still to come to terms with the Lok Sabha drubbing.

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In Short

  • Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the opposition, was absent from Bihar assembly for weeks
  • A recent meeting between Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui has tongues wagging
  • With Lalu Prasad languishing in jail, it is up to Tejashwi Yadav to carry forward his father’s legacy

What is it with our political dynasts? Why are they in a funk, wallowing in self-pity? Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav had been AWOL for weeks before resurfacing in Bihar assembly earlier this month. Tejashwi, by the way, is the leader of the opposition.

A recent meeting in Darbhanga between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui has tongues wagging and raised the political temperatures. But more on that later.

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These are trying times for Tejashwi Yadav and the party he heads, RJD. In the 2019 Lok Sabha RJD failed to win a single seat, a first since RJD was formed in 1997. In the 2014 general elections the party had won four.

In the 243-member Bihar assembly, RJD has 79 seats. Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) -- with 73 seats -- in coalition with Bharatiya Janata Party (54 seats) run the government.

The RJD boat can be rocked any time. Dissension in the party has been brewing for some time now though it hasn't erupted into a full-blown rebellion.

Tejashwi's elder brother and former health minister Tej Pratap is also in a sulk after complaining that nobody in the party was listening to him. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections he floated the Lalu Rabri Morcha, a political outfit.

Tej Pratap, the elder brother of Tejashwi Yadav. (Photo: Facebook/TejPratapYadavOfficial)

Though he doesn't have the support of a majority of RJD MLAs, he still has some following among a section of the youth.

But there are dark clouds in the horizon for Tejashwi Yadav and RJD. On July 21 Chief Minister Nitish Kumar paid a visit to Abdul Bari Siddiqui, an RJD leader and former finance minister, setting political tongues wagging in Patna.

Siddiqui, a Lalu Prasad loyalist, enjoys the support of a sizeable number of RJD MLAs. Whether Nitish Kumar wants to split the RJD or he's looking at RJD support in case of BJP leaving the coalition is a moot point.

However, alarm bells should ring for Tejashwi Yadav. He needs to rejuvenate the party and time is running out. Remember Bihar elects a new assembly in 2020.

Instead of moping Tejashwi Yadav should get back to his job. This is the opportune time to take on the government. The flood situation in Bihar is worsening. Over 100 people have lost their lives. The government is fumbling with rescue and relief measures.

If this wasn't enough, more than 150 children have died of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Bihar this year. RJD should have led the opposition fight straight into the government camp. Any politician would have grabbed at the chance and visited the victims' families.

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Today's realpolitik says brownie points were there to be taken. But where was Tejashwi Yadav? Bihar's health services, or rather the lack of it, could have been put under the scanner. Nitish Kumar has been at the helm of Bihar politics for 15 years now.

According to a report -- "Healthy States, Progressive India" -- by the government think tank Niti Aayog released in May 2019, Bihar is ranked a lowly 20 among larger states. Only Uttar Pradesh is ranked lower.

Granular data paint a grim picture: Only 43 per cent of the sanctioned strength of doctors is available in government hospitals. When it comes to nurses and technicians it is worse: 29 per cent nurses and 28 per cent technicians are available.

Bihar's social welfare report card would suggest that the JD (U)-BJP government wants Bihar to continue flaunting its Bimaru tag. According to The Economic Times, under MGNREGA Bihar delivered only 108.4 mn person-days out of a target of 140 mn.

The list doesn't end there. Only 388,000 rural houses were built out of a target of 1.17 mn; 33,636 people were skilled out of a target of 1,48,500

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Any sensible opposition will find Bihar a fertile ground for change. Factor in the anti-incumbency factor that 15 years of Nitish Kumar rule has spawned.

With Lalu Prasad languishing in jail and out of political reckoning in the near future, it is up to Tejashwi Yadav to carry forward his father's legacy.

The battle for Bihar is not over yet.