Bihar polls: My age may be young, but my promise is mature - says Tejashwi Yadav

As the Bihar assembly election campaign intensifies, INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial candidate, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, lays out his vision for development, employment and economic justice while taking aim at his political rivals. He shares his plans to create jobs, strengthen the economy and build an inclusive Bihar with TOI’s AlokKNMishra. Excerpts:You are the chief ministerial candidate of the INDIA bloc and have been campaigning extensively across Bihar for the past several weeks. What promises are you making to people, and what feedback are you getting?We have taken an oath to make Bihar the number one state in the country and that is our ultimate objective.

Our vision is to build a Bihar where no Bihari brother or sister has to migrate in search of work or opportunities. Every facility and opportunity should be available right here, in our own state. Bihar should have factories and job opportunities, as well as quality hospitals, colleges and universities.Factories should be set up, jute mills reopened, food processing units established and new IT parks and SEZs developed.

Our goal is to make Bihar an educational hub so that students do not have to go to places like Kota to prepare for exams and we want to build good hospitals so that people do not have to travel outside the state for treatment. Bihar today is one of the poorest states with the lowest per capita income. We are determined to change that by ensuring that every citizen has access to education, healthcare, income, opportunities and justice – and that the govt is truly action-oriented.Bihar also has immense potential in the tourism sector – whether it is religious tourism, heritage tourism or general tourism. We want to develop this potential and promote Bihar as a major tourism destination. We want to make such a Bihar that moves ahead on the path of progress. We are getting a great response from the people who want a change in Bihar.You have pledged to provide a govt job for every family. Critics argue that this may not be financially feasible for Bihar, which does not have the financial resources to fund this. How do you plan to implement this promise?Let the people say what they want to say. The last time, they were saying that giving 10 lakh jobs was impossible.

Now, the same people – the BJP and JD(U) – have been forced to talk about jobs, and they are saying they will give one crore jobs. We have done and shown what we promised.We gave five lakh jobs – about 3.5 lakh every year during the 17 months from Aug 2022 to Jan 2024, when I served as deputy chief minister in the Grand Alliance govt. We also gave the status of Bihar govt employees to over four lakh contractual teachers in the state in Dec 2023.

So, we have already done it, and soon we will turn this task – which looks impossible – into a possible one. My age may be young, but my promise is mature.Have you consulted experts, carried out any study or prepared a blueprint for this?We do not make any announcements without consulting the experts and without conducting the required research and study. We only make announcements that are feasible and practical. We have prepared the blueprint for it.The INDIA bloc and the NDA are both contesting the election on the development plank. How is the RJD-led alliance’s development plank different from the NDA's? The NDA has no development plank and no vision for Bihar. The BJP wants factories to be set up only in Gujarat – the semiconductor factory is in Gujarat, investor meetings are held there, SEZs are established there, and even the international stadium is built there. Everything is being done in Gujarat, while nothing is being done for Bihar. They have no road map or vision for Bihar. Amit Shah (union home minister) himself said that there is a dearth of land in Bihar, which is why factories and industries cannot be set up here. So, they have made it clear that they have no development plan for Bihar. Having served as deputy chief minister under Nitish Kumar, what do you think about Nitish Kumar's style of leadership and the way he runs the Government? At present, Nitish Kumar has been reduced to just a puppet. BJP is running the govt while Nitish Kumar is merely a figurehead – the real power lies with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. We even have sympathy for Nitish Kumar, considering his current condition.This is the same Nitish Kumar who once snapped ties with the NDA after Narendra Modi was announced the chief of the BJP’s campaign committee for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He had even cancelled a dinner planned for Modi in Patna. In the past, the same Nitish Kumar returned the Rs 5 crore Koshi flood relief donation from the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat govt in 2010 when the Gujarat govt issued advertisements for it.And now, Nitish ji has, unfortunately, become a puppet and his health condition also does not allow him to run the govt effectivelyRJD has traditionally relied on support from the Muslim-Yadav vote base. This time, you have fielded more candidates from women, Dalits, and EBC communities. How is the RJD attempting to broaden its appeal beyond the MuslimYadav combination?The RJD has always been a party for everyone – inclusive since the very beginning.

No govt has given as much representation in the state cabinet to upper castes as the one led by Laluji. Similarly, no other govt has matched the number of leaders from the EBC category who were made MLAs, MLCs, and given various opportunities under the govt of Laluji.It was Laluji who made Bhagwati Devi, the daughter of the Musahar community, an MP. He ensured that every section of society received respect and representation in governance.

Yes, some people may have left us at times, but eventually, all of them have come back — because they know that the RJD truly belongs to everyone.The voting patterns in recent Bihar elections indicate that a larger share of EBC, upper-caste and several groups within the Dalit community voters have favoured the NDA over the RJDIn the 2020 election, the difference between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan was only 12,000 votes, which was less than 1%.

It shows that we got votes from all sections of society. Women in Bihar have traditionally been seen as strong supporters of Nitish Kumar. What strategies is the RJD adopting to attract more women voters in this election? The women have woken up now. The truth has come out in the open – that women were often exploited and were denied the respect and rights they truly deserved. This is why there is a growing sense of dissatisfaction among women with the Nitish govt. Do you think the women of Bihar are going to support the INDIA bloc this time?See, due to growing dissatisfaction among women, the Nitish govt had to give a Rs 10,000 bribe to each woman just before the elections.

They realised that their support base among women was drifting away, especially after we announced the ‘Mai Bahin Maan Yojana’ for the women of Bihar, under which women in Bihar will receive Rs 2,500 per month as financial assistance to make them financially independent, and we spoke about making Jeevika Didis permanent.

This has clearly panicked the NDA. That is why they are giving out Rs 10,000 in the middle of the election, and yet the Election Commission is not stopping them. What is the emergency that justifies this?The NDA is contesting the election under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, but it has not yet categorically announced that Nitish will be the CM if the NDA wins. What is your view on this?Amit Shah ji and the BJP are clear that Nitish Kumar will not become the chief minister again.

It is totally clear. He will meet the same fate as Shinde ji (Eknath Shinde was not reinstated as CM after the BJP won a majority in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections).Why will the NDA not make Nitish Kumar the CM?His situation is not the same. The BJP wants to have its own chief minister in Bihar because, until now, they have never had one. They aspire for it, but that ambition will never be fulfilled.RJD rule in Bihar ended 20 years ago. Even now, many people say that a return of the RJD to power could bring back the ‘jungle raj’ of the past. Why do such perceptions persist even after so many years since the RJD last governed Bihar?See, this is nothing but complete propaganda and a wrong perception fuelled by those opposed to the RJD.

Lalu ji always gave respect to everyone and worked to ensure equality in society. Those who considered themselves superior by birth had to sit at the same level as Dalits and backward communities. This created resentment among such people. True superiority comes from one’s actions, not from birth. Lalu ji made everyone equal and upheld this principle consistently.You have been saying that Lalu Yadav gave social justice to the people of Bihar, and you will deliver economic justice. Can you elaborate?We are living in an economic age, and people deserve economic justice.

Inflation is soaring, jobs are scarce, and household expenses are rising rapidly. How are people supposed to manage their daily lives? Since Modi came to power, under the NDA govt, everything has become more expensive. Modi ji had promised to bring down inflation, but prices have risen fivefold since he took office – fuel, food, and almost everything has become costlier, while people’s incomes remain stagnant. Small and medium-scale factories are shutting down, businesses are struggling and the economy is not growing as it should.

The situation worsened further after Trump imposed tariffs. Now is the time to ensure true economic justice for the people.There have been reports of internal differences within the INDIA bloc. How have you addressed or managed these challenges?There were no fissures in the INDIA bloc. There was no problem. It was only in the media.But across 11 seats, the INDIA bloc partners are contesting against each other in what is being described as a friendly fight.The friendly fight is being conducted strategically. In Jharkhand, we contested and won elections despite similar arrangements. Likewise, in Jammu & Kashmir, the INDIA bloc had friendly fights, and they emerged victorious. In Bihar, the situation is no different. We remain united and strong, contesting the elections with our full strength, and we are going to win the elections.Congress is an important partner of the RJD-led alliance in Bihar. It won 19 seats in 2020. How do you feel it is going to perform in this election?Congress will perform much better this time. We are confident of winning more seats compared to 2020, as we have focused carefully on the winnability factor and meticulously selected our candidates.Did you give any suggestions to Congress when they were finalising the tickets?We all sit together and discuss it – the selection of candidates. There seems to be tension in your family, with your elder brother’s newly formed party (Janshakti Janata Dal) contesting the election against many RJD candidates. As his younger brother, many would expect him to support you and stand shoulder to shoulder with you in this crucial time. How do you respond to this? That’s alright. In a democracy, everyone has the right to form their own party and contest elections. Yes, it would have been far better if the things that happened had not happened, but this is the reality, and we have to accept it.Is there any possibility of the RJD again aligning with Nitish Kumar’s party JD(U) in future? Now, the Janata Dal (United) will not survive after the elections are over. Half of the JD(U) leaders will go to the BJP and half will come to the RJD.How challenging is Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj for the INDIA bloc? We do not care about such things – who is coming to Bihar, who is making what party. Our only focus is to make Bihar the number one state in the country. Our fight is against unemployment. You are the INDIA bloc’s CM face. The VIP (Vikassheel Insaan Party) chief is the deputy chief minister face. Is there a possibility that there could be another deputy CM from the Muslim community? It has already been announced that there will be one more deputy CM if the INDIA bloc forms the govt. When the right time comes, the decision about it will be taken collectively by the alliance partners and an announcement will be made.