TEJASHWI YADAV FIGHTING FOR CHANGE

THE RJD LEADER PROMISES JOBS FOR ALL, INCLUSIVITY AND RADICAL REBOOT TO WOO BIHAR'S YOUTH. BUT TO WIN, HE MUST SHED THE JUNGLE RAJ IMAGE OF LALU'S RULE

- By AMITABH SRIVASTAVA

Early on October 29 morning, clad in a beige shirt sporting his party's election symbol, the lantern, Tejashwi Yadav boards a waiting VT-JSF helicopter at Patna airport en route to addressing seven rallies that day, including one in Samastipur. The de facto chief of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and chief ministerial candidate of the Opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance is racing against time and geography to reach as many voters as possible. His rallies are not assemblies but dense, kinetic gatherings of young voters waving smartphones like torches of affirmation. It is no different in Samastipur. Near the stage, young men in the party's green colours jostle for space, phones raised high, eager to capture a breathless fragment of their leader.

Tejashwi's speeches, often extempore, deftly weave unemployment, migration and dignity into a single emotional narrative. The RJD's campaign anthem—'Bihar badalne wala hai, sarkar badalne wali hai (Bihar is going to change, the government is going to change)'—encapsulates a spirit of renewal. In his idioms, Tejashwi has moved from his father Lalu’s grammar of social justice to one of economic aspiration. “Naukri milegi pakka, bhrashtachar, berozgaari ko karenge out, aur rishwatkhori ko karenge clean-bowled,” he tells the crowd, promising jobs, an end to corruption and unemployment, and a 'clean bowling' of graft.

Tejashwi has learnt the rhythms of oratory, the mix of grievous hurt, humour and warmth Lalu had mastered. But his tone is less mocking