'Game not over': RJD looks to strengthen Tejashwi's image

On the day the Janata Dal (United) walked out of the "mahagath bandhan" alliance in Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which emerged as the single-largest party in the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, maintained on Sunday that the "game is not over" and intensified its attempts to portray former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as the one who steered development work during the erstwhile administration's nearly 17-month regime.

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The Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) government, comprising RJD, JD(U), the Congress and three Left parties, came to power in August 2022, when chief minister Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). However, with the JD (U) once again joining hands with the NDA on Sunday, the RJD - the single-largest party in Bihar with 79 lawmakers in the 243-member assembly - has ended up in the opposition.

A party or a grouping needs 122 lawmakers to form the government in the 243-member Bihar assembly. The JD(U) has 45 members while the NDA has 82. The RJD, Congress, and Left parties together have 114 lawmakers.

In his first reaction to Kumar's move, Tejashwi told reporters that "he and his party always fulfilled the coalition dharma and worked for the state's development".