‘Tejashwi surrounded by sycophants’: Why RJD just lost a key spokesperson

The resignation of such a prominent public face, especially when a crucial bypoll is around the corner, exposes the friction within the RJD regarding the growing disconnect between the top leadership and its grassroots base.

Tiwari, originally a sports activist, joined the RJD in 2009 when he became a part of its sports wing. Since 2014, he had been the party’s spokesperson. Even though the party has over half a dozen spokespersons, it was Tiwari who was often seen leading from the front in defending the RJD or pushing its viewpoints.

He was also seen as a prominent Brahmin face, helping anchor Tejashwi’s broader political strategy to expand the party’s traditional Muslim-Yadav base into an all-inclusive coalition.

“I have served the RJD without hankering after positions of MLA and MLC since 2009. I courted arrest four times in the course of our fight for getting the Bihar Cricket Association (Lalu faction) affiliated with the BCCI,” he said.

“It was Lalu Prasad who introduced me to party workers at a public function and made me party spokesperson. But once he passed the mantle of his party to his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, the drift started,” he said.

This contrast highlights a major shift in organisational culture – while Lalu Prasad was known for his accessibility and raw political instinct, Tejashwi’s more structured and guarded style of functioning is increasingly perceived by old-school loyalists as corporate aloofness.

“Tejashwi ji is encircled by sycophants and does not have time for committed workers like us. I requested his time so he could connect more with genuine workers, but my advice fell on deaf ears. Everyone has been talking about the Bankipur bypolls, but Tejashwi ji is nowhere to be seen. When a genuine worker is not respected, there is no point in dragging things on,” he said.

Tiwari submitted his resignation to the party state president, Mangani Lal Mandal. This public airing of grievances at the height of the critical Bankipur assembly by-election deals a blow to the party, validating a growing internal narrative that an elite, non-political advisory coterie has effectively isolated Tejashwi from his seasoned ground politicians.

In fact, RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta, too, said, “Mrityunjay Tiwari ji has always upheld our party ideology and championed the social justice cause of our top leaders. The party has to look into the concerns he raised. A set of leaders must not be allowed to prevail over the party.”

Mehta’s unusually candid admission, rather than a routine dismissal of a defector, signals that the resentment against Tejashwi’s inner circle is deeply entrenched and shared by other high-ranking leaders who feel sidelined.