"People Voted For Change": Tejashwi Yadav To NDTV On Record Polling In Bihar

The people of Bihar voted for change in large numbers, and that has led to the state seeing the highest ever turnout in the assembly election, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav told NDTV's Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal in an exclusive interview in Bihar's Purnia today.

Voting in the first of the two-phase assembly election began on Thursday. By the day's end, the Election Commission announced a record voter turnout of nearly 65 per cent across 121 constituencies.

“I have got positive feedback from everywhere. People here want change and they voted for change. They want a Bihar free from corruption; they want Bihar to be a hub of IT, textiles, food processing, agro-based industry,” Yadav told NDTV.

“There is a lot of scope in Bihar. And when Biharis say enough is enough and decide to do something, they do it,” Yadav added.

He denied that a perception exists among women voters that if the RJD returned to power, then the days of “gunda raj” would also come back.

Aiming back at the BJP, Yadav said, “The BJP is trying to supply that narrative, but the people are not buying it. They talk about what happened 30-35 years ago, but not about what's happening today.”

The RJD leader said another narrative is being run that Bihar is among the top two states, the first being Uttar Pradesh, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), while the top five states in development are all ruled by the BJP.

“This is not going to work. People have understood the BJP's propaganda. They care about their own future now,” Yadav told NDTV.

What's the difference in the RJD this time? What makes Yadav think the RJD is formidable?

The answer, Yadav told NDTV, lies in looking back on those 17 months when the RJD was in power as part of the Mahagathbandhan under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal (United), or JD(U). That short-lived government fell in January 2024 after the JD(U) chief returned to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) family.

“The work I have done in those 17 months must be 5 per cent of my ability, but that 5 per cent included giving jobs to five lakh people, making tourism policies… But see the chief minister now, he can't even attract investors,” Yadav said.

On concerns raised over Nitish Kumar's health condition, the RJD leader said he has no comment to offer on the matter. “I won't comment on this. I don't believe in this kind of politics. I am progressive. I can talk about myself, my vision,” Yadav told NDTV.

To a question about an alleged buzz within the RJD that the BJP may ask it to join them if they don't keep Nitish Kumar in the driver's seat, Yadav took a swipe at Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“BJP people say Amit Shah wants to become prime minister. They say all kinds of things,” Yadav said.

The key seats in the first phase of polling included Tejashwi Yadav's Raghopur, Mahua, from where his brother Tej Pratap Yadav is trying his luck with a new political outfit, and Tarapur, from where Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary is contesting.

Gangster-turned-politician Dular Chand Yadav, who had aligned with Prashant Kishor's new outfit Jan Suraaj Party, was allegedly killed in a skirmish with supporters of Anant Singh, the JD(U) candidate from Mokama.

The assembly election in 2020 held amid the COVID-19 pandemic saw a voter turnout of 57.29 per cent; in 2015 the state reported a voter turnout of 56.91 per cent, and in 2010 a turnout of 52.73 per cent.

Polling for the remaining 122 seats will be held on November 11. Counting is on November 14.