Cracks Widen in RJD's Muslim-Yadav Base in Bihar Polls
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The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the largest party in the Grand Alliance that won 25 seats in the Bihar assembly elections, is facing a crisis in its core Muslim-Yadav (M-Y) base. The party, which had allocated around 50 tickets to Yadavs and 20 to Muslims, failed to capitalize on its traditional support. The move to declare Vikassheel Insaan Party chief Mukesh Sahani as a deputy chief minister if the alliance came to power alienated the RJD's base, particularly in the Seemanchal region, where Muslims shifted their support to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which won five seats. Analysts believe that the RJD took Muslim support for granted and that the community preferred the AIMIM, which opposed the Wakf Bill in Parliament and carried out a yatra in Muslim-dominated areas before the polls. The RJD's internal issues also came to the fore, with Tejashwi Yadav's leadership being questioned even within the family. His brother Tej Pratap was expelled from the party, and his sister Rohini Acharya's cryptic social media posts hinted at a lack of consensus on Tejashwi's candidacy. Patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav's limited campaign and the absence of his other sister, Misa, from the campaign trail added to the party's woes. Tej Pratap's election loss and Tejashwi's narrow victory have raised concerns about the Yadav family's grip on the party. Chittaranjan Gagan, an RJD spokesperson, expressed confidence in Tejashwi and Lalu Prasad's leadership, but the party's future looks uncertain in the face of these internal challenges.
