Patna: Twenty days after the Bihar Assembly election results delivered a heavy defeat to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has left for a trip to Europe with his wife and two children. The RJD leader, who attended only the first two days of the Assembly’s winter session and got re- elected as Leader of Opposition, skipped the remaining proceedings despite a three-day sitting.
Tejashwi was one of the most visible and vocal figures of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, projecting confidence throughout the campaign and even predicting the timeline of his assumed victory — “Results on November 14, oath on the 18th,” he declared. But when the mandate came, the picture changed dramatically. The NDA returned to power with 202 seats, while the RJD slumped to 25. The wider Grand Alliance failed to cross 35.
Following the defeat, Tejashwi’s sudden withdrawal from the public eye became a topic of discussion in political circles. A brief appearance at the Assembly on the first two days was followed by a video from Patna airport suggesting he was headed to Delhi. BJP MLA Neeraj Kumar publicly questioned his absence from the House, asking where the Leader of Opposition had gone.
Tejashwi was also conspicuously missing from the grand swearing-in ceremony at Gandhi Maidan on 20 November, attended by the Prime Minister, several Union ministers and chief ministers from 11 states. Although an invitation was sent and a seat reserved for him, he did not attend.
Between November 14 and 23, he remained largely unseen — not on the roads, not before the media and not at party events. He surfaced briefly at a few weddings and then at the Assembly for two days, but did not return thereafter.
During this period, the RJD grappled with internal disputes, family tensions and a review of the party’s poor performance. Tejashwi limited his reactions to a formal congratulatory post for the Nitish Kumar government on social media.
His Europe trip has now added to the questions already swirling around him. Observers note that politics in Bihar allows little space for silence. If the opposition stays absent, they say, the ruling NDA’s narrative may cement itself unchallenged.
Supporters hope Tejashwi will return with renewed clarity. For now, his next move — whenever it comes — may determine whether the defeat has strengthened his resolve or left a deeper dent.
