Lalu Prasad Yadav is the titan in twilight. That is if one were looking at him through a charitable prism. He has had a pretty good run in Indian politics as well as ruled Bihar via his party - Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Now saddled with illness and serious charges of alleged graft, he knows time is at a premium. But this isn’t about Lalu. It is about his son Tejashwi who has adroitly grabbed the baton and is sprinting away in the fast lane.
The shadow of the father plays a crucial role in a son's capacity to create a meaningful political career. But when the father has iconic status, the sons rarely flourish. Examples abound in sports, cinema, and politics.
Yet, as it happens, when a person is trying to sketch his own identity there are diverse reactions to be expected from the Coliseum watchers.
I spoke with a clutch of astute Bihar watchers and their views juice up the Tejashwi story:
“Lalu’s image has haunted Tejashwi. Later, people got disenchanted with him too due to caste factors. But he can’t be blamed for all the negatives.”
“No fault of Pariwarvaad (Dynasty) for electing Tejashwi. Eventually the people elect them. It is not the fault of any candidate.”
“We expected him to deliver more. Had he been CM maybe he could have done much better. Being Deputy CM has no meaning. It is a post just for the sake of ego satisfaction.”
“Tejashwi is very popular. He is seen as a youth leader who tries to honor the biggest commitment he made, which is employment. When Lalu was in jail, he shouldered responsibility.”
Sifting through those applauding and naysayers, it is quite an onerous task to do a realistic portrayal of the “Prince” who aspires to be “King.”
Positioning himself as a youth leader, employment has been the spinal cord of Tejashwi’s campaign since the 2020 elections.
Tejashwi may not have the oratorical skills of his father who was brilliant at playing to the gallery via rustic humor, anecdotes, and an occasional dash of chicanery, but he brings an honesty of purpose to his job.
Tejashwi, who was perforce driven to join the opposition flanks after Nitish Kumar beat Houdini to perform yet another volte face, drum beats the point that of the promised 10 lakh jobs, his alliance handed out about 4.5 lakh jobs during 17 months of its tenure in office.
On cue the RJD spokesman and MP (Rajya Sabha), Manoj Jha parroted the slogan, “Naukri matlab Tejaswhi Yadav” (Tejashwi means jobs).
“Humne aane wali kisi sarkar ke liye lakir badi kar di hai. Ab koi bhi aayega usko batana hoga ki usne kitni naukriyan di” (Whoever is in power would now have to tell the people how many jobs they have generated) says Tejashwi. And unhesitatingly he claimed credit for what he did. There was no false modesty involved.
Tejashwi Yadav’s persona can be broadly categorized as follows:
· He connected with the people speaking on specifics. During the 2020 assembly elections, he was playing a lone hand against the BJP-Janata Dal (United) with Lalu in jail.
· He promised 10,00,000 jobs to the youth if his party was elected to power. Even though the RJD was unable to form the government, it emerged as the single largest party with 78 MLAs.
· As part of the Nitish Kumar government over two lakh jobs were given.
· He had pushed for the caste-based census when he was in the opposition.
· He wants to stop migration from villages.
Lalu Yadav stayed in jail for 4 years with the CBI opposing his bail from the lower court to the Supreme Court. The CBI dug the cases related to his tenures as the railway minister (2004-2009) which it had closed in 2011 and charges were framed against his son, Tejashwi Yadav, wife Rabri Devi and their daughters in corruption charges.
In 2014, when Lalu underwent a heart surgery, Prime Minister Modi called to check on him. But there were no perceived realignments thereafter.
Lalu was convicted in back-to-back cases of the fodder scam and was jailed as well.
According to the CBI and ED, some candidates obtained jobs in the railways in lieu of plots of land that they gave to Lalu when the latter was the minister for railways (2004-09). Tejashwi was then playing cricket as a member of Under-15 team.
Reports indicate these allegations were dropped in 2011. But the CBI and ED raided Lalu in Patna and Delhi in 2017, when Tejashwi was the deputy chief minister in the Nitish Kumar-led first Mahagathbandhan government.
Tejashwi indicated the RJD was more than a party of Muslims and Yadavs even in terms of social combinations. “People say RJD is M-Y party. But let me tell you we have BAAP along with M-Y. BAAP stands for ‘Bahujan, Agda (forward castes), Aadhi Aabadi (women), and Poor. We are an A-Z party,” he said.
Tejashwi aspires to fly. But he should remember the example of Icarus, a figure in Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun.
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