Reality Bites RJD
Veterans warn that the party’s traditional caste politics holds no appeal for today’s social media-savvy youth
“Aapko nikalna hoga, is tarah se kaam nahin chalega. Maar khayiye aap, hum chahenge Tejashwi lathi khaein, hum chahenge Tejashwi jail jaein. Phir dekhiye kaise nahin chunaav jitaate hain hum (You will have to come out [of your shell]. This [disinterested] approach won’t work. I would like Tejashwi to endure beatings, go to jail. Then, you will see, we will make you win elections).”
A huge applause rents the air as RJD vice-president Shivanand Tiwari offers such eyebrow-raising advice at the foundation day event of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Patna on July 5. While party seniors, including Rabri Devi, looked on impassively, the irony of Tejashwi Yadav, RJD founder Lalu Yadav’s chosen political heir, being absent was not lost on the gathering.
Whether or not his words rang a bell with the RJD first family, Tiwari, a former Rajya Sabha member and contemporary of Lalu, continued to dwell on his mantra for the party’s survival—and potential revival: reach out and spend time with the electorate. He even questioned the RJD’s plank of ‘social justice and secularism’, saying: “Gaadi aage nahin badh rahi hai (Things aren’t moving).”
Questions about the RJD’s future have already been raised by other RJD bigwigs. Party vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh feels the ‘backward [caste]-forward [caste]’ politics has lost relevance. Another senior suggests the party look beyond its traditional Muslim-Yadav vote bank. “In this age, Yadav youth, especially the ‘Facebookia’ Yadavs (euphemism for those hooked to social media), look bored with our brand of politics,” he says, on condition of anonymity.
At the RJD’s national executive held in Patna on July 6-7, some leaders demanded action against those who broke party discipline. No names were taken, but the target appeared to be Lalu’s elder son Tej Pratap. While the RJD had suspended former Union minister Mohammed Ali Ashraf Fatmi for filing his nomination against the grand alliance nominee from
TEJASHWI HAS BEEN SILENT ON PARTY VETERANS’ CALL TO REBRAND THE RJD
Madhubani Lok Sabha seat—which he subsequently withdrew—no action was taken against Tej Pratap for fielding his own candidates and campaigning against the RJD’s nominees in at least two seats. Now, RJD leaders are beginning to question such double standards.
To many others, the RJD is caught in a time warp. Its zero tally in the Lok Sabha election—a first since the party’s birth in 1997—has only amplified the crisis. While the RJD is the single-largest party in the assembly (79 out of 243 seats), its prospects in the assembly poll next year look uncertain, particularly since Lalu is in judicial custody following convictions in fodder scam cases. He has secured bail in just two cases.
So far, Tejashwi has not reacted to the party seniors’ call for a political rebranding and a public movement. The RJD’s primary support base of Yadavs (14 per cent of the population) and Muslims (16 per cent) has failed to stop Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) in successive state elections because of their firm footing among the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Mahadalits. Senior JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi claims the Lok Sabha results show how voters are tired of Lalu’s caste- and dynasty-centric politics. “Going by our Lok Sabha tally, the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) is in the driver’s seat in over 220 of the 243 assembly seats,” he says.
“It’s time to not only change our core values but also our approach. We must give more representation to other caste groups,” says a senior RJD leader. Is Tejashwi listening?