Patna: Tejashwi Yadav walked into the 2025 Bihar elections with a lot riding on his shoulders. People expected a fight, maybe even a win. Instead, the RJD crashed below 40 seats. That’s a big drop from 2020, when the party finished as the largest with 75 seats. The message is pretty clear: Bihar’s voters still aren’t ready to hand him the chief minister’s chair. The slide raises tough questions about how he’s running his campaign and whether people really trust his leadership.
Job-Centric Messaging Failed to Resonate
Tejashwi made jobs and unemployment the heart of his pitch—just like he did five years ago. Back then, it worked. This time, not so much. The problem wasn’t the issue itself. People in Bihar still care about jobs. But they just didn’t buy that Tejashwi had real answers. His campaign sounded like a rerun, offering the same lines without any new ideas or plans. Voters saw him as someone pointing out problems, not someone who could actually fix them.
Losing the Battle for Women Voters
Then there’s the women’s vote. Nitish Kumar has built a solid base among women, and Tejashwi couldn’t break through. Sure, he announced new schemes—the ‘Mai Bahin Maan Yojana,’ cash incentives for women and farmers—but it all felt like he was scrambling to catch up, not leading with vision. Meanwhile, Nitish doubled down, handing out Rs 10,000 to 25 lakh women. That kind of move reinforced his reputation for stability. In the end, women—who often tip the scales in Bihar—stuck with the familiar, not the flashy promises.
Failure to Build a Broad Social Coalition
Tejashwi also struggled to shake off RJD’s old image. He tried to rebrand as an ‘A to Z’ party, reaching out to EBCs, Dalits, young people, and women. But the math didn’t add up. Bihar’s caste politics demand a much broader coalition, and voters just didn’t see him as a leader for everyone. He understood the need for a bigger tent, but couldn’t deliver it. For now, people still see him as representing a narrow group, not the whole state.
The Shadow of ‘Jungle Raj’ Still Looms
There’s the shadow that refuses to go away—‘Jungle Raj.’ No matter how hard Tejashwi tries to show a modern, clean-cut image, the old fears from the Lalu–Rabri years linger. Rivals keep bringing it up, and voters remember. For many, voting for Tejashwi means risking a return to a past they don’t want.
Campaign Lost Direction
His campaign this year felt lost. There wasn’t the same energy or unity that powered his 2020 run. Internal grumbling grew as Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Matdata Adhikar Yatra’ stole the spotlight and drew people away from RJD’s efforts. By comparison, Tejashwi’s own campaign looked scattered and unfocused. That just added to doubts about whether he has the organizational chops to lead Bihar.
Bihar Wants Stability, Not Experimentation
In the end, Bihar’s message is simple: they want stability, not experiments. Tejashwi’s loss isn’t just about politics—it’s a sign that voters want experience and predictability over bold promises and youthful drive. If he wants another shot, he needs to break free from old baggage, build a broader base, and prove he can actually govern. Until then, Bihar’s not ready to make him chief minister.
