Patna, Nov 14 (UNI) RJD leader and Grand Alliance’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav secured a win from the Raghopur constituency in Vaishali district, defeating his nearest rival, BJP candidate Satish Kumar, by 14,532 votes.
According to the final figures, Tejashwi Yadav, former deputy chief minister received 1,18,597 votes, while Satish Kumar secured 1,04,065 votes, allowing the RJD to retain the traditional family seat.
Even after completing a hat-trick of wins from Raghopur, the scion of Lalu-Rabri who was eyeing for the plum post of Bihar CM, would not be able to accomplish this long cherished dream following dismal performance of the GA in the election.
Yadav, after bidding adieu to cricket, entered the electoral politics in 2015 and for the first time became an MLA by winning the election from Raghopur constituency of Vaishali district, the seat represented by his mother Rabri Devi.
In 2015, Yadav had defeated Satish Yadav of BJP by 22,733 votes. Satish had the credit of defeating Rabri Devi in 2010 Bihar assembly elections. In 2020, he faced Satish Kumar again and strengthened his hold over the seat by a margin of 38,174 votes.
Raghopur is considered a stronghold of the Lalu Prasad family. Lalu Prasad won the seat in 1995 and 2000, followed by Rabri Devi, who won both elections held in February and October 2005. The streak was broken in 2010 when JD(U) candidate Satish Kumar defeated Rabri Devi by 13,006 votes.
Born and brought up in the political atmosphere, Yadav nurtured political dreams since his childhood but formally began his political journey in 2010 while campaigning for his parents’ party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Carrying forward the political dynasty, Yadav became the Deputy Chief Minister in Nitish government. Chief minister Nitish Kumar had contested the assembly election as Grand Alliance member with RJD and Congress as prominent partners. Yadav continued on the post of Deputy CM from November 20, 2015 till July 26, 2017.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, known for his zero tolerance towards corruption had snapped ties with the Grand Alliance and had formed government with NDA on July 26, 2017.
Being devoid of power, Yadav following the health of his father Lalu Prasad, became the de facto leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD) and led his party in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, as the chief ministerial candidate of the GA which, however, again remained out of power. With RJD winning 75 seats, it became the single largest political party and Yadav was elected as the leader of Opposition of Bihar.
Later in August 2022, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s flip-flop paved the way for Yadav to again become the Deputy Chief Minister. Kumar had snapped his ties with the BJP to form the Grand Alliance government with RJD.
On August 10, 2022, Yadav took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister for the second time with Kumar taking oath as chief minister as part of the GA government.
Taking serious note of the corruption charges being labelled against Tejashwi’s parents, Nitish Kumar again switched to NDA, abandoning GA in 2024, terminating Yadav’s tenure as deputy chief minister on January 28, 2024 once again.
While remaining in power as Deputy CM, Yadav had also served as the Health and Family Welfare minister and Road Construction, Housing & Urban Development and Rural Development minister.
Since his second stint ending as Deputy Chief Minister, Yadav had been serving as the leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly.
Born on November 9, 1989, Yadav before entering politics was a professional cricketer. A middle-order batsman and right-arm spinner, he played in the Indian Premier League for the Delhi Daredevils between 2008 and 2012, though he was primarily on the reserve bench.
Youngest of the nine siblings with seven sisters and a brother, Yadav did his schooling in Patna and later moved to Delhi where he attended Delhi Public School in RK Puram, but dropped out to pursue his cricket career.
The young leader who could not even complete his matriculation is facing several corruption-related cases. He tied his nupital-knot in 2021 with his childhood friend, Rachel Godinho, now Rajshri Yadav.
