Prof. Mohammad Sajjad’s article ‘Understanding Tejashwi Yadav’s Lacklustre Campaign in Bihar‘ published by The Wire, fails to separate facts from fiction. A point-wise rebuttal of his arguments is imperative to prevent smearing of an otherwise lustrous campaign.Prof Sajjad proclaims that Tejashwi is an heir apparent and a ‘chief-minister-in-waiting’, but completely overlooks the conditions in which Tejashwi had to take the baton from his father. He had to quickly fathom the deeper intricacies of politics in Bihar’s kaleidoscopic political scenario.No, Tejashwi Yadav is not a crown prince and his coronation ‘just an interregnum’, as Prof Sajjad would want the readers to believe. Conversely, Tejashwi had to face the challenges of the vacuum created by Lalu Yadav’s absence. He had to also measure up to Lalu’s persona, as the latter commanded a large following across several backward and Dalit castes of Bihar.Tejashwi’s trialsTejashwi Yadav’s first trial was to overcome the limitation of having only the Yadavs as the core base. He was faced with the task of widening the terrain of social justice politics to involve other castes. He succeeded in roping in parties such as Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) to expand this social coalition.Obviously, coalitions come with their own complexities. Walking that tightrope is not easy even for political veterans. Allocating the Madhubani, Sheohar, Motihari and Darbhanga seats to coalition parties was a step towards strengthening it, even if the RJD had to make sacrifices.Further, Prof Sajjad alleges that Tejashwi has run a weak election campaign, undermining the Mahagathbandhan’s immediate prospects to shore up his future ambitions. On the contrary, Yadav has run a competent campaign, like the bypolls early last year or the 2015 assembly campaign, when the RJD emerged as the single largest party.Unrelenting criticism of the NDATejashwi Yadav has been unambiguous and unrelenting in his criticism of the NDA government at the Centre, calling their policies ‘anti-people’. His criticism of the Bihar state government has been that its leadership stole the people’s mandate.He is one of the young leaders (he is not “barely in his twenties” – he’ll turn 30 come November) who are anchoring the alliance in the state. He is also leading a fairly visible campaign despite being outspent by the formidable war chest of the opposition and largely unyielding mainstream media.If we consider Prof Sajjad’s argument that Tejashwi is prioritising his ambitions, it should be clear that he has little to gain from a loss, like any opposition leader or party. On the contrary, a decisive victory will burnish his credentials.Also Read: In 2019, Is BJP Riding a Modi Wave or a Money Wave?Discussing just one paragraph is enough to dispel Prof Sajjad’s misgivings. The RJD did not yield to CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai for the reason that it is an eminently winnable seat for the RJD. Their candidate Tanveer Hassan polled 34.31% votes compared to the BJP’s 35.72 in the 2014 general elections.Ali Ashraf Fatmi has indeed been dropped to accommodate a coalition candidate, but what bears mentioning here is that his son, Dr Faraz Fatmi, contested and won the 2015 assembly elections on the RJD ticket. Clearly, the issues – from strategy to representation of constituents – are not as Prof Sajjad makes them out to be.Pushpanjali Jha teaches at the department of social work, University of Delhi.
