Bihar: A quiet, ambitious plan to own the future

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), perceived for long as a caste-based party primarily representing the Yadav community in the state appears to have gone through a quiet transformation. After coming close to wresting power in the last Bihar assembly election, the party, under the leadership of former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, has gone through a makeover that mainstream media seems to have missed or ignored.

Several non-Yadavs today hold key positions in the party, the most visible among them in public being Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha and two party spokespersons, Priyanka Bharti and Kanchana Yadav, who appear on hostile TV debates. A remarkable number of them are tech-savvy and research-driven professionals, educated in India and abroad. Those who still see the party as a feudal and dynastic body rooted in the state’s caste politics are possibly not being fair.

For example, party general-secretary Shashwat Gautam is an expert in public policy with work experience in the US. He is said to have played a key role in organising the Bihar Policy Dialogue in February 2025 in Patna. The event brought together academics and policymakers from India and abroad to discuss the state’s more pressing issues. Possible roadmaps were discussed and action plans were proposed. “The idea is to drive change in society through policies. Politics is fundamentally about policy, but in Bihar, no one talks about policies and their impact on the state,” Gautam said.

“Politics is a reflection of society and if you want to change society, you will have to change the politics first. People need to realise that politics is much more than just power struggles and elections. We need structural changes in the state and the RJD as a serious political party must be ready to address policies,” he added.

Gautam is also said to have recruited several PhD scholars as secretaries to RJD MPs, to strengthen the party’s intellectual base. A PhD and a graduate from Hindu College in Delhi was fielded in the last assembly election and emerged victorious.

Under Lalu Prasad Yadav, the party had sent a daily wage labourer to the Lok Sabha and a folk singer to the Rajya Sabha. Now, aware of the rising education levels and growing aspirations of the youth, the party appears to be making a conscious effort to identify potential leaders of the future among the educated youth. There is a growing realisation within the party that long-term relevance demands inclusivity across social backgrounds, and more tech-savvy teams.

Several RJD leaders confided that the party has been organising social media training camps and booth management training camps for party workers at regular intervals in the past few years. Mukund Singh, daughter of a socialist Rajput father and a Dalit mother, has organised several such camps. Appointed karyalaya pramukh of the RJD, she said, “We lost the last assembly election because we were not technically prepared enough to identify and counter the BJP’s electoral malpractices.”

Raised in a Gandhi Ashram established by Jayaprakash Narayan in Nawada district, she is married to a Nair from Kerala and follows Christianity. Her diverse background defies the traditional caste and religious political boundaries in the state. Yet, she was chosen by the RJD leadership and given a key responsibility. “I was initially apprehensive about RJD, believing it to be a Yadav-centric party,” she admitted. “But after joining, I realised how much the party has changed and is so different from the perception promoted by the media in public.” Asked if she faced discrimination as a woman in the RJD, she said the the media was largely responsible for shaping public perceptions.

“The upper caste-dominated media mostly created this narrative, although statements made by some people within the party also contributed,” she conceded. The party has nurtured a formidable team of articulate spokespersons, mostly non-Yadavs, as part of its makeover strategy. Jayant Jigyasu, a JNU alumnus and former AISF activist, once close to Kanhaiya Kumar, represents the changed RJD. He has authored a book on Lalu Prasad.

Another rising star is Priyanka Bharati, the fiery spokesperson whose sharp-witted retorts in TV debates frequently leave BJP spokespersons sputtering and fumbling for answers. The party’s women’s wing is led by Ritu Jaiswal, an OBC, while Ranvijay Sahu has taken over as the principal general secretary.

These appointments also seem to reflect a broader effort to move beyond the traditional dependence on Muslims and Yadavs. By expanding its social base and challenging old stereotypes, the party does seem serious about redefining its identity in the state’s political landscape. The assembly elections later this year will show if these changes will be enough to sway the voters. Whatever be the outcome, the party appears to have been doing the right things and moving towards the right direction in reshaping its future.

Champaran’s Ramayan Mandir

The BJP, which has been struggling to stamp its political dominance in the state, having never secured a majority in the assembly or having its own chief minister, has fallen back to stoking religious sentiments. Associating itself with the construction of another grand temple dedicated to Lord Ram in the state appears to be part of the playbook.

Although not directly involved in the construction of the Virat Ramayan Mandir in Kesariya block of Champaran district — which is historically known for Mahatma Gandhi’s first satyagraha — its association with the project is acknowledged by everyone. The temple is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore by the Mahavir Trust with Tata Consulting Engineers Limited (TCEL) providing technical support. The trust was founded by former IPS officer Acharya Kunal Kishore, who passed away in December 2024.

The temple, which will come up on approximately161 acres and is being billed as one of the largest Hindu temples globally, draws architectural inspiration from Rameswaram and Madurai temples in Tamil Nadu and Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. Kishore, a known supporter of the VHP and the Ram temple movement, had earlier donated Rs 1 crore for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

His familial ties further link him to Bihar’s ruling political dispensation: his son, Sayan Kunal, is married to Sambhavi Chaudhary, daughter of JD(U) leader Ashok Chaudhary. Sambhavi was fielded as a candidate by Chirag Paswan’s LJP. Both JD(U) and LJP are BJP’s allies in Bihar. This, as per Bihar watchers, further strengthens the political connections surrounding the Ramayan temple project.

Shuja Khan, a Champaran native and Congress activist, accuses the BJP of attempting to alter the historical identity of Champaran by emphasising on the Ramayan mandir. However, he noted that the BJP’s agenda might not succeed as members of the Muslim community have also contributed to the project. The land for the temple’s garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) was donated by a Muslim, Ishtiyaq Ahmad Khan.

A Dalit activist, speaking over the phone, expressed concerns that the temple project could overshadow Champaran’s rich Buddhist heritage. The region is home to several ancient Buddhist sites, including the Kesariya Buddha Stupa—one of the tallest Buddhist stupas in the world, standing 104 feet high with a circumference of nearly 400 feet.

The activist alleged that the BJP aims to undermine Bihar’s Buddhist legacy to promote its Hindutva narrative. As elections draw near, the Virat Ramayan Mandir has emerged as a potential focal point in Bihar’s political landscape, reflecting the interplay of religion, history, and electoral strategy.