RJD reviews results; Tejashwi made Legislature Party leader

Amid the rift within the family of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) founder and supremo Lalu Prasad, after his daughter Rohini Acharya levelled serious allegations against close aides of Mr. Prasad’s youngest son and political heir Tejashwi Yadav, the new party MLAs on Monday (November 17, 2025) elected Mr. Tejashwi Yadav as the Leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal Legislature Party.

Following the debacle in the Bihar Assembly election, a review meeting with new MLAs and the party’s candidates, who contested the election, was called at the official residence of Mr. Tejashwi Yadav in Patna.

Mr. Lalu Prasad, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, Lok Sabha member Misa Bharti, and former RJD State president Jagdanand Singh were also present.

The party fielded 143 candidates, with the nomination papers of one candidate rejected. At the meeting, all candidates except one were present, including the 25 newly elected MLAs.

“During the review meeting, all the leaders agreed that there was anger among the people against the incumbent government of Nitish Kumar. The mandate people have given is hard to digest, not for us but for the common people of the State,” RJD spokesperson and candidate from Hilsa, Shakti Singh Yadav, who lost the election, said, speaking about the meeting.

“During the meeting, Lalu Prasad-ji announced that a free hand be given to Tejashwi Yadav-ji to take decisions for the party. Lalu-ji also said that there would be no intervention from outside or inside the family,” Mr. Shakti Singh Yadav said.

Ramanuj Prasad, who lost against the BJP’s Vinay Kumar Singh, said that Mr. Tejashwi Yadav spoke to each candidate and took their feedback. Senior leaders of the party also suggested taking up a legal battle and approaching the courts against the election results, Mr. Ramanuj Prasad said.

Rakesh Raushan, the sitting RJD MLA who lost in the Mahua Assembly seat against the Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas candidate Sanjay Kumar Singh, said that democracy had been murdered, and votes had been purchased by giving ₹10,000 to women voters.

Winning RJD MLA Narendra Kumar Singh alias Bogo Singh from Matihani Assembly seat echoed the same sentiment, asserting that when people were casting their vote, ‘Jeevika Didi votes’ were being purchased by transferring crores of rupees into the accounts of beneficiaries of the scheme, and the Election Commission of India did not take any notice of it.

In the recently concluded Assembly election, the RJD-led Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) performed badly by winning only 35 seats. The RJD won only 25 seats, possibly the party’s worst performance since 2010, when the party had won 22 seats.

Sources in the RJD said that the anger among local leaders who were dropped, mistakes in ticket distribution, and in the selection of candidates were also discussed during the review meeting.

Many RJD leaders openly said that the party had wasted a lot of time protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Some suggested that the same energy could have been used for connecting with the people on the ground.

Earlier in the day, several party workers protested against Sanjay Yadav, political advisor to Mr. Tejashwi Yadav, outside Mr. Lalu Prasad’s residence, and held him responsible for the party’s poor performance. The meeting lasted for several hours, and Mr. Tejashwi Yadav left the venue without speaking to the media.