Tejashwi Yadav Congratulates Nitish Kumar While Facing Party Crisis After Bihar Election Defeat

Tejashwi Yadav's RJD secured only 25 out of 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly elections, marking a significant electoral setback.

Following the disappointing performance in Bihar's elections, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has extended his congratulations to JDU's Nitish Kumar on his appointment as chief minister, expressing hope that the new administration will meet the public's expectations.

The 36-year-old Yadav, who was positioned as the opposition Mahagathbandhan's candidate for chief minister, led his party to one of its poorest electoral showings. Their seat count plummeted from 75 in 2020 to just 25 in the recent elections, while the NDA coalition, spearheaded by BJP and JDU, achieved remarkable success with a total of 202 seats.

On Thursday, Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar's chief minister for the tenth time, with BJP representatives Samrat Chadhuary and Vijay Sinha returning as deputy chief ministers.

In his message on platform X, Yadav congratulated Kumar and the newly appointed ministers.

"Heartfelt congratulations to Shri Nitish Kumar Ji on taking the oath of office as the Chief Minister of Bihar. Heartfelt best wishes to all the ministers of the Bihar government who took oath as members of the Council of Ministers," wrote Yadav.

He added, "I hope that the new government will live up to the hopes and expectations of people, fulfil its promises and declarations, and bring positive and qualitative changes in the lives of the people of Bihar."

These comments come amid internal turmoil within both the party and the Yadav family following the unexpected electoral defeat.

According to sources, Yadav allegedly had a heated confrontation with his sister Rohini Acharya on November 15, one day after the election results were announced, accusing her of contributing to the defeat. Reports suggest the altercation included him throwing a slipper at her and using abusive language.

That same day, Acharya announced she was disowning her family and withdrawing from politics. She pointed to two of Yadav's close associates, Sanjay Yadav and Rameez Nemat Khan, as influencing her decision.

Three more daughters of Lalu Yadav—Rajlakshmi, Ragini, and Chanda—also departed from the family residence at 10 Circular Road in Patna.

This recent conflict follows the expulsion of the family's eldest son, Tej Pratap, who formed the Janshakti Janata Dal and contested the election independently but failed to win any seats.

Sources informed NDTV that Tejashwi Yadav attempted to assume responsibility for the RJD's poor electoral performance by declining the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. However, he ultimately accepted the role after his father and party president Lalu Yadav insisted.

"I am handling the party's affairs on his orders. I tried very hard in this election but was unsuccessful," Tejashwi was quoted saying according to sources.

Despite Tejashwi's offer to step down, Lalu Yadav firmly maintained that his son should continue leading the party in the legislative assembly, as reported by sources.