TEJASHWI SPREADS HIS NET FAR AND WIDE

With Nitish Kumar having crossed over to the Opposition side, Tejashwi Yadav pitches himself as the leader of the masses, promising them economic and social justice as he traverses the state

- Amitabh Srivastava

On February 22, as Tejashwi Yadav finished his 20-minute-long speech at a public meeting in Siwan, a stopover 132 km northwest of Patna, during his Jan Vishwas Yatra across the state, almost everyone in the first few rows, young men all, shouted out a request. The message could have been lost in the din, but the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader caught on what his audience wanted to speak in the local dialect. And Tejashwi obliged, switching to chaste Bhojpuri to say, Rauaa logan ke aye ke baa'-please come [to Patna for the March 3 rally]. On that day, a mega Opposition show, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to share the stage with RJD president Lalu Prasad and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

The words Tejashwi chose while speaking in Bhojpuri-a language he is not known to be comfortable in-demonstrated the 34-year-old Yadav scion's politically correct ways. He used 'rauaa', a respectable term to address the elders in Bhojpuri, instead of 'tahra', which also means you. He also invoked kinship, saying he was a brother of Siwan, where he was addressing the meeting, since his father was from Gopalganj, the neighbouring district.

Tejashwi's impact on the masses, in every meeting he addresses, has been electric. A young crowd that occupies the front spaces cheers him constantly, holding on to every word he utters, repeating everything he says, clapping and shouting slogans. Hundreds of others record his speech on their mobile phones.

At the end of every speech, Tejashwi ties the RJD's green gamchha around his head, waves his right hand Gangnam style, as the crowd reciprocates by mimicking his action. Hearts won, approval ratings up, it's mission accomplished.

The Tejashwi Formula