RJD vs Congress in Bihar: Why Tejashwi Yadav's 243-seat gambit could backfire on Mahagathbandhan

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress' Rahul Gandhi during the recently concluded Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar. (X/@INCIndia)

Emblematic of the tussle within the Opposition alliance over leadership and seat-sharing, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav's declaration that voters should cast ballots in his name across all 243 constituencies could have consequences for both the Mahagathbandhan's cohesion and the ruling NDA’s strategy.

"This time, Tejashwi will contest all 243 seats. Whether it is Bochahan or Muzaffarpur, Tejashwi will fight. My appeal to all of you is to vote in my name. Tejashwi will work towards taking Bihar forward… All of us should work together and unseat this government," he said at a public meeting in Kanti near Muzaffarpur.

The pronouncement comes amid growing friction with the Congress, which has resisted naming Tejashwi the chief ministerial face and pushed back against RJD pressure to contest fewer seats than in 2020. Then, Congress fought 70 seats but managed to win only 19—two of those MLAs later defected. RJD leaders argue the Congress’s poor strike rate cost the Mahagathbandhan power.

Congress, meanwhile, has identified at least 37 of the 51 seats it lost in 2020 as "unwinnable" from the onset and insists it wants a larger share of "winnable" constituencies.

Seen in this context, Tejashwi's 'all-243' remark doubles up as a veiled warning to the Congress: either agree to the RJD’s terms or risk contesting alone. But such rhetoric risks undermining the recent momentum built by Rahul Gandhi-Tejashwi Yadav's joint 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', which successfully amplified Opposition charges of "vote-chori" against the BJP and Election Commission.

A survey by Vote Vibe underscored how the Opposition had managed to shape public discourse, with 21 percent of respondents citing SIR as a major election issue—second only to unemployment (34%). Tejashwi’s aggressive posturing now threatens to dilute that narrative by projecting division rather than unity.

The unilateral projection of himself as the alliance's face—without official endorsement from Congress or smaller partners—also leaves ground workers uncertain about coordination on the campaign trail. In Bihar’s highly competitive electoral landscape, where political fortunes are closely tied to coalition arithmetic, even small fissures can push allies or fence-sitters towards the NDA.

While the RJD remains the Mahagathbandhan’s largest force—it emerged as the single largest party in 2020 with 75 of 144 seats contested—the timing of Tejashwi’s declaration has given the NDA fresh ammunition. In a state where both RJD and BJP rely heavily on allies to secure power, unity is not just symbolism but a necessity.