Why Tejashwi Yadav is making a play for Nitish Kumar, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s core voters

Tejashwi has been forthcoming about his efforts to turn the RJD from an M-Y party to an “A to Z” party by reaching out to other social groups. While EBCs are considered to be voters not tethered to any particular party or leader, non-Paswan Dalits are also considered part of the category. Paswans, who comprise 5.3% of the population, are largely the loyal vote bank of Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

That is why the RJD, of late, has been focusing on consolidating its presence among the Mushahars, the third-largest Dalit group (3.08%) after Paswans and the Ravidas community (5.2%), and its allied Bhuiyan caste (0.79%). Mushahars-Bhuiyans are part of the larger 21 Mahadalit grouping that Nitish, the Janata Dal (United) chief, formed in 2007-08 and whose members have largely been his voters for over 15 years. Mushahars, specifically, are also seen as the core vote bank of Union Minister and former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi.

“It is no longer the same Nitish Kumar,” said a senior RJD leader. “Several Dalit welfare schemes for them, including free distribution of land, have slowed down in the last 10 years. Mushahar leader Jitan Ram Manjhi hardly visits his constituency. We see several social groups at the cusp of changing their electoral preferences for the 2025 Assembly polls. This is where we stand a good chance of broadening our vote base.”

On April 7, Tejashwi attended a meeting of the Mushahar-Bhuiyan groups in Patna, exhorting them to back the Opposition Mahagathbandhan and vote out CM Nitish Kumar, whom he compared to a “20-year-old car” that requires quick replacement.

The LoP spoke of the poor living conditions of the two groups, saying, “Most people from the Musahar-Bhuiyan communities have been living on the roadside in thatched huts or night shelters and slums. If you vote the Mahagathbandhan to power and make me CM, I will give you pucca houses.”

Tejashwi also recalled how his father Lalu Prasad had worked for the benefit of the poor when he became the CM in 1990, saying the RJD founder got Dalit settlements built and also removed the toddy tax to support the Pasi community. Tejashwi also accused the NDA government of being hostile towards Dalits. “The RSS and the BJP won’t do anything for the poor … The Narendra Modi government has not done anything significant for Dalits in the last 10 years,” he said.

Tejashwi believes that though Manjhi enjoys sizeable support among fellow Mushahars, his influence is limited to the Magadh region of Gaya, Jehanabad, and Aurangabad. As per his calculations, the RJD, party insiders said, could target the Mushahar-Bhuiyan voters in other districts, including in the Purnia-Araria belt.

What JD(U), Manjhi’s party think

However, JD(U) chief spokesperson and MLC Neeraj Kumar dismissed the Opposition party’s efforts. “The RJD is living in a fool’s paradise. Whether it is EBCs or Mahadalits, they are NDA constituencies. The Nitish Kumar government has done a lot for them, from giving scholarships and school uniforms to land for building homes.”

Danish Rizwan, an advisor to Manjhi, also dismissed the RJD’s attempts to eat into the party’s core vote bank. “If Tejashwi really wants to do something for Mushahars-Bhuiyans, he should give them important positions such as state or national president or national general secretary of the RJD. Did the RJD give any ticket to Mushahars in the last Lok Sabha elections? Let him announce how many tickets he will give to these two castes in the Assembly polls. Tejashwi has been doing politics of false appeasement. That will not work.”

This is not the first time Tejashwi has spoken about transforming the RJD into an “A to Z” party. In February 2024, months before the Lok Sabha elections, he embarked on a 10-day statewide yatra during which he coined the term “BAAP” to signify the RJD’s intent to broaden its social base. The LoP said his party would stand for the “Bahujan, Agda (forward castes), Aadhi Aabadi (women), and Poor”.

While the message did not have much positive impact for the RJD in the parliamentary elections, as its tally was restricted to just four seats, Tejashwi will hope the message has percolated by now and would help his party in the Assembly elections later this year.