Patna: Three days after losing the Bihar Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal has officially appointed Tejashwi Yadav as the Leader of the Opposition. The decision was taken during a legislative party meeting held at Tejashwi’s residence on Polo Road in Patna. Both MLAs who won and those who lost were invited to the discussion. The meeting focused not only on leadership but also on preparing the party’s next strategy after the defeat.
Top RJD leaders including party supremo Lalu Prasad, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti, Jagdanand Singh and strongman leader Suraj Bhan Singh were present during the gathering. According to sources, the discussion lasted nearly four hours, and leaders spoke openly about weaknesses in the campaign. The meeting was described as serious and frank, with MLAs offering ground-level inputs.
Several leaders alleged irregularities in the election. RJD leader Ramanuj Yadav said that the discussions were direct with no scripted speeches and that Tejashwi was chosen as Leader of the Opposition with full support. He also confirmed that the possibility of moving to court over the election results was discussed, and Grand Alliance partners will be consulted before a final decision. MLA Alok Mehta repeated the claim of “rigging”, saying that the result did not reflect the real support on the ground.
Bogo Singh, the RJD MLA who won from Matihani, made one of the strongest allegations, saying that Rs 10,000 was distributed to influence votes. He claimed the NDA’s position had weakened during the campaign but votes were bought by targeting Jeevika Didis. He said that the Election Commission should take responsibility and respond to reports of irregularities.
According to party insiders, Tejashwi has specially invited losing candidates so he can understand what actually went wrong in the constituencies. The feedback session will include discussions on issues such as organisational weaknesses, local dissatisfaction, booth-level problems and failure to communicate campaign issues effectively. Candidate selection and ticket distribution will also be reviewed to determine whether internal discontent affected results.
Tejashwi Yadav is preparing to lead the Opposition inside the Assembly while rebuilding the party outside it. Though the RJD has not formally announced a legal move, the tone of the meeting suggests the party is ready for a long political and legal battle. For now, the party is focused on understanding its mistakes, addressing internal gaps and challenging what it claims to be an unfair election result.
