Out of power due to the sudden switch of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) to the BJP-led NDA, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has hit the ground with his Jan Vishwas Yatra (people’s trust journey) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
On February 22, he addressed the ninth rally at Ara, Bhojpur before making a night stay in Buxar from where he will resume his journey at Kila Maidan in Buxar on Friday. In Siwan, while addressing the rally, Mr. Yadav termed the BJP a “dustbin”, referring to its alliance partners as garbage.
During his rallies, he is emphasising on two points: Is BJP willing to take guarantee from Mr. Kumar that he would not switch sides once again; and moving ahead of his party’s vote base among Muslims and Yadavs (MY), Mr. Yadav coined the new term BAAP, which means (Bahujan Agada Adhi-Abadi-[women] and poor).
Mr. Yadav countered the four vote banks of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in his own way. He also started efforts to expand the political base of the RJD beyond MY. The four crucial vote banks are Dalits, upper caste, women and extremely backward class (EBC).
Nine rallies
The RJD leader began his journey on February 20 and till now he has addressed nine rallies in three days. He started from Muzaffarpur and after crisscrossing the hinterland of north Bihar, he reached Ara where he addressed the last rally of third day at Nayka Tola Mor in Jagdishpur.
Before Ara, he addressed a rally in Saran and Siwan blaming Mr. Kumar for ditching the people’s mandate.
Making a sarcastic comment on the JD(U) in Siwan, Mr. Yadav said, “We all know that the BJP is a washing machine in which all corrupt people are cleaned. The BJP is also a dustbin in which political parties which have become garbage are going inside.”
He maintained distance from the family of the late Mohammad Shahabuddin, the don-turned-politician who was once the diehard supporter of RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Neither his wife Heena Sahab nor his son Osama Shahab were seen during his visit.
His rallies were attended by people of all sections. During his first meeting held near Lalu Yadav Chowk at Sarai Mod in Muzaffarpur district, Pintu Thakur, 28, who hails from nai (barber) community under EBC category, said, ”I got the job of teacher because of Tejashwi Yadav. Government always makes the promises but Tejashwi is the only leader who first promised a job and he delivered as well.”
It’s not Muslim-Yadav combine that is supporting him during the rally, but even people of nishad, lohar, paswan under EBC and Scheduled Caste categories were shouting slogans in his support. A large number of women and youth are turning up to listen to him.
Huge welcome gates, posters, banners and cutouts of Mr. Yadav were put up on both sides of the road from where his cavalcade was passing through. RJD supporters were found waiting for his cavalcade and showering flowers on his rath. At many places, he came out from the bus to meet the supporters and accepted their greetings.
Addressing the gathering in Sitamarhi, Mr. Yadav asserted that he could give much more if he becomes the Chief Minister. He pointed out that if he could give 10 lakh jobs as the Deputy Chief Minister, he could give much more if the people of Bihar support him to lead the State.
In Bettiah, West Champaran district, Mr. Yadav alleged that Mr. Kumar was willing to dissolve the Assembly to hold the Assembly election along with the Lok Sabha polls.
In every rally, he is also giving the comparison between 17 years of the BJP-JD(U) government and 17 months of RJD in the government in which maximum jobs were provided.
