Though Rashtriya Janta Dal has lost Bihar polls, the party seems to have found its future leader in Tejaswi Yadav. Attacked by many, including PM Modi, who called him “Jungle Raj Ke Yuvraj,” Tejaswi Yadav always remained careful about his language during campaigns and never used any derogatory word for his opponents in the elections.
Despite being attacked from all sides, he preferred to focus on the issues like Jobs, Education, Health, and Irrigation. He kept insisting on these issues till they began dominating the course of campaigns before voting.
A college dropout
Born on November 9, 1989, in Gopalganj, Bihar, Tejaswi Yadav is the youngest among 9 siblings in his family. His schooling began in Patna. Later he moved to Delhi, where he initially attended Delhi Public School before joining Delhi Public School RK Puram, where he began playing cricket in his school’s team. As described by his principal, he was an introverted student and a cricket enthusiast.
Playing for his college team, he secured a place in the U-15 cricket team at the age of 13 years. He helped his team to win many tournaments during his first season. His team had won the tournament, where he played a match-winning inning with Ishant Sharma in the finals. Virat Kohli was the captain of his team. To pursue his career in Cricket, he abandoned his study when he was in class x.
A failed cricketer
Tejaswi Yadav won a contract from Delhi Daredevils to play in the 2008 Indian Premier League. But could not get the opportunity to hit the ground during the entire season in 2008-2012. In a veiled attack, his father, Lalu Prasad Yadav, then said, “At least (my son) will have the opportunity to serve water to the players” He started his professional cricket career with 4 Twent20 matches in the Syed Ali Trophy.
He played the tournament primarily as the bowler of the team. He had also played a test match against the Vidarbha cricket team in Dhanbad. In 2010, he played against Odisha and Tripura cricket team in Vijay Hazare Trophy. But what he wanted to achieve as a cricketer was still hanging far away from him. Unsatisfied with his cricket career, he, by 2013, left dreaming about his future in cricket and entered politics.
A seasoned politician
Despite being attacked by opponents, Tejaswi Yadav refrained from using harsh language or word for his opponents during the campaign.“Do you need jobs? Sarkari wala? If you get a government job, you will get a beautiful bride too,” Tejashwi promised in all his election rallies.
From the beginning, he performed well. He knew about the challenge and their solutions. So, he began on a clean whiteboard, “Let me apologize for any wrongdo.. for any wrongdoings during the previous RJD regime.” He apologized publicly for past mistakes and won over the voters. During the entire campaign, no one saw him raising emotive issues like Ram Temple, CAA, NRC, or the China-India standoff at the border.
“Tejashwi, like a seasoned politician, remained focused all throughout his 235 rallies he addressed in an Assembly election held in the absence of his maverick father Lalu Prasad. And his rallies drew more crowd than that of PM,” said noted social scientist Ajay Kumar, explaining how a 31-year-old RJD leader turned the Bihar elections into a fierce fight.
