Patna: In the aftermath of the RJD’s heavy defeat in the Bihar assembly election, senior leader Shivanand Tiwari has launched a sweeping attack on Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, while also issuing a pointed warning to his old friend and current NDA ally, Nitish Kumar.
Tiwari argued that although the BJP might keep Kumar as chief minister “for a few days”, the party’s long-term plan is to establish its own exclusive rule in Bihar.
In a lengthy Facebook post, the former RJD vice-president described the 2025 election as a turning point, marking the first time the BJP and its allies have appeared independently capable of forming a full majority in Bihar. “The BJP has long dreamt of establishing its own government here,” he wrote, adding that Bihar remains the only major state in the Hindi heartland where the party has not yet ruled on its own.
‘Bihar has resisted Hindutva, but BJP is now at the doorstep’
Invoking the state’s legacy as the land of the Buddha, Gandhi’s Champaran satyagraha, and the socialist movements of Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan, Tiwari said Bihar has historically resisted the expansion of Hindutva ideology.
“Despite this legacy, the BJP has reached the threshold of establishing its own government,” he lamented.
Attacks on Lalu and Tejashwi: ‘Lalu politics is over’
Tiwari argued that the election results have once again exposed the shrinking appeal of Lalu Yadav’s politics.
He dismissed Tejashwi Yadav as “not a leader with his own personality but a modern replica of Lalu, steeped in arrogance”.
According to him, the decline began in 2010, when the RJD managed to win only 22 seats and even lost the status of main opposition.
A political history lesson
The post also revisited the political events of the 1990s when Lalu Prasad Yadav became chief minister with support from Congress, Left parties and the BJP.
Tiwari wrote that Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav had pushed for an internal election within the Janata Dal, leading to Lalu’s surprise victory.
He further argued that while Lalu squandered the political capital gained during the Mandal movement and the arrest of L.K. Advani during the Ram Rath Yatra, Nitish Kumar succeeded in expanding the idea of social justice to women, smaller castes, and marginalised communities.
‘Nitish has no successor — danger for Bihar’
Tiwari described Nitish Kumar as “a cautious leader who never took personal risks”, but credited him with initiating social reforms and expanding opportunities.
Yet he warned that Kumar’s failure to build a political successor could have long-term consequences:
“After Nitish, where will his followers go? Certainly not to Lalu Yadav. They will drift towards the BJP, paving the way for an unchallenged Hindutva rule in Bihar.”
He questioned whether Kumar had considered the ideological dissonance of aligning with a party that, according to Tiwari, venerates “the man who killed Gandhi”.
‘BJP is not doing Nitish a favour’
Despite the BJP emerging as the largest party within the NDA, Tiwari argued that Nitish Kumar still delivered a stronger performance by winning 42 new seats, compared to the BJP’s 15.
Thus, he claimed, Kumar’s elevation as chief minister should not be seen as an act of generosity by the BJP.
