Bihar@2020: Decoding the rise of Tejashwi Yadav in just four weeks

As the four-week long campaign for the three phase Bihar assembly elections ended on Thursday evening, it is time to look at the campaign strategy of Tejashwi Yadav, the new wonder boy of Bihar politics.

At the beginning of the election process, Tejashwi was highly under rated and described as a reluctant politician and unworthy successor of the political party built by Lalu Prasad. His political maturity or the lack of it, his past as a failed cricketer drew snide comparisons.

Four weeks later he is being talked about as the new hope in the beleaguered state, the crowd he drew to his rallies, his connect with the people and how he outwitted his far more experienced rivals Nitish Kumar and even PM Narendra Modi.

To Tejashwi’s credit, he campaigned with the right mix of grace, firmness and political cunning. Except for one minor slip on the point of ‘Babus’, Tejashwi refused to get provoked and handled even the most vicious of attacks on him with dignity.

He was taunted as a school dropout. He could have hit back by questioning the educational qualifications of some of his opponents. The Prime Minister’s missing degree from DU and his Master’s in ‘Entire Political Science’ was a low hanging fruit. But he resisted the temptation of hitting back in kind. That would have deviated from his main election plank of A to Z politics, economic justice and ‘kamai, padhai, dawai, sinchai’ (jobs, education, health and irrigation) promise.

Most people took his promise of offering a million govt jobs in the first cabinet meeting with a pinch of salt.The arguments advanced by JD(U) and BJP that the bankrupt state did not have the resources, it was conceded, were weighty. A hostile bureaucracy, inevitable litigation and the archaic recruitment process, it was grudgingly accepted, would ensure that the promise might remain on paper. But they also grudgingly conceded his audacity and felt that there was no harm in hoping against hope.

A careful listening of Tejashwi’s election speeches makes it clear that Tejashwi has only committed himself to the job issue being the first agenda of his cabinet. But he has not given a time frame for providing the promised job - a Mandir vahin banayenge, Tareekh nahin bataenge’ kind of promise that politicians make.

The more sober of Tejashwi supporters also know that delivering 10 lakh govt jobs was easier said than done. Even if Tejashwi gets half of the 4.5 lakh vacant positions in the govt, particularly the relatively low paid positions of grade four staff, nurses, primary school teachers etc. filled up - it will be hailed as an admirable achievement. The very fact that someone has made it the most important part of the electoral discourse is an achievement in itself.

By dropping the bombshell of quitting electoral politics, Nitish Kumar, in a way has made things easier for Tejashwi. Read between the lines, Nitish’s message says that even if voted to power, he will not have to account for his performance in the next election to be held in 2025.

Ignoring and dropping scheming allies like Jitan Ram Manjhi, Upendra Kushwaha and Mukesh Sahini too has drawn for him respect from hard boiled political observers and politicians. He not only stood up to political blackmailing but also took a huge risk by showing them the door.

Aligning with the Left, may, in the end, prove to be his smartest move. While the Left parties, contesting together, may or may not win too many seats, their pockets of influence across the state and dedicated cadre, by all available accounts, have worked to the advantage of RJD and its allies.