New Bihar CM Will Not Enjoy Public Mandate, Claims Tejashwi Yadav

Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) national working president Tejashwi Prasad Yadav slammed the imminent change in the government in Bihar and claimed chief minister Nitish Kumar was being forcibly deposed.

He asserted that whoever becomes the next chief minister would not enjoy the public mandate even as the state would be pushed under ‘Gujarat’s shadow’. “The NDA (National Democratic Alliance) will decide on the next chief minister, but in reality, only two people (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah) will do so. One thing is certain. Whoever will be the new chief minister will not have the public mandate and Gujarat will run the government here,” Tejashwi said.

Asked why he did not come to the rescue of Nitish if he was being forcibly removed from the post of the chief minister, the RJD leader reasoned that he (Nitish) will have to first accept that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was slowly killing him. Tejashwi, who is also the leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, pointed out that Nitish emptied the state coffers before quitting as the chief minister.

“Bihar has been destroyed by the NDA – BJP. The state treasury is empty. People are not getting their salaries. This ruling dispensation will destroy the state further. There has been no cabinet meeting over the last two months – a situation that occurred never before. The alliance leaders are playing the game of chairs (position) and are not concerned about the people,” Tejashwi said.

The reference about the state coffers was related to the wide-ranging sops doled out by Nitish in the run-up to the Assembly elections held in November, 2025. Among other things it included Rs 10,000 to around 1.6 crore women to start businesses or employment-related works, as well as 125 units of free electricity.

“Bihar is now the poorest state. It is at the lowest rung in the country with regard to per capita income, health parameters, and education. There are no industries here. Crime has gone up to such a level that the pages of newspapers are red (with blood),” he added.

Tejashwi was talking to reporters after announcing that the name of the students’ wing of the party has been changed from ‘Chhatra RJD’ to ‘Socialist Students’ Association of India’ (SSAI). He also unveiled its logo and motto – “Education, Equality, and Empowerment”.

The change in name followed the dissolution of the Bihar unit of Chhatra RJD by party president Lalu Prasad on March 6. Tejaswhwi said it was done to conform to the Supreme Court ruling that the students’ associations in educational campuses cannot include the names of their political parties.

“With the change, we have dropped the name of the RJD from our students’ wing. We will now look towards expanding it across the country and also at the national level. The SSAI will contest elections in college and university campuses in Delhi and other places and expand across India,” Tejashwi said.