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Journalism of Courage
In recent months Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has met several top Opposition leaders and Chief Ministers. On Tuesday, Tejashwi met Delhi CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal at his residence in Delhi to have a “detailed discussion on current social, political and economic issues”.
Soon after meeting Kejriwal, Tejashwi, in a Twitter post in Hindi, said that the “BJP government has mortgaged public sector units, resources, national wealth and the country to capitalists,” stressing that “We all have to come together to save the country”.
Last Saturday, Tejashwi met Jharkhand CM and JMM leader Hemant Soren at his house in Ranchi and discussed the “challenges of the future” and the prospect of their parties contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls together. The RJD leader told reporters then that the Opposition parties must unite against the communal forces to oust the BJP government from power at the Centre.
Last year, Tejashwi had met West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, Telengana CM and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS, formerly TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, and Tamil Nadu CM and DMK president MK Stalin. He met SP president and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav several times. He also extended a warm welcome to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray when the latter met him in Patna.
With Bihar CM and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar set to embark on a countrywide mission to mobilise the Opposition forces against the BJP in the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Tejashwi has also stepped up his bid for the cause of the Opposition unity, not missing any opportunity to meet important leaders from the non-BJP camp. Tejashwi is said to doing so with twin objectives: firstly, to fuel his own growth as a politician and ensure his acceptance as a leader beyond Bihar, and, secondly, to assist Nitish in bringing together the Opposition for the 2024 electoral battle.
There does not seem to be any clear signs so far of the Opposition parties getting ranged against the Modi government. Tejashwi is however “making efforts in this regard on his own and has not been assigned to do so by the Bihar CM”, according to the RJD camp.
RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar told The Indian Express: “Tejashwi Prasad Yadav cannot remain a mute spectator to what has been happening in the country. Several democratic institutions have been under attack. The government’s role over the Adani issue is under question. No one should ask us where we had been been when such things were happening.”
The RJD also believes that Tejashwi is now ready to assume bigger responsibility. With RJD national president Lalu Prasad being not too active in Bihar and national politics on health ground, Tejashwi has stepped up to take a stand on crucial national issues.
Tejashwi and the RJD are enthused by Lalu Prasad’s return to Delhi after having undergone the kidney transplant surgery in Singapore. With Bihar’s ruling Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) putting up its first joint show at Purnia on 25 February, Tejashwi’s moves with regard to a larger non-BJP front will be closely watched. He also believes that the RJD’s best chance for winning seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to emerge as a player in national politics would depend on its alliance with the JD(U), Congress and other Opposition parties.
