His voice, image, and slogans dominate, energizing his base, but also expose a deeper problem: the absence of any other recognizable or credible leaders.
Tejashwi Yadav campaigns across Bihar in a helicopter, energizing crowds and leading the Grand Alliance as the election's central figure (Photo: ANI)
NEW DELHI: In Bihar's assembly election, the Grand Alliance campaign has come to revolve around one man Tejashwi Yadav. The 35-year-old leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the alliance's chief ministerial face has become the sole engine driving the fight. Each day, he covers between 15 and 20 public meetings across constituencies, travelling by helicopter from one district to another, speaking to media outlets mid-air or during convoy breaks. His voice, image, and slogans dominate the campaign, energizing his base but also exposing a deeper problem: the absence of any other recognizable or credible leaders within the opposition coalition.
Tejashwi's campaign strategy is straightforward but effective. He has made jobs the moral centre of the election. At a time when youth unemployment is among the highest in Bihar and over a million young men and women leave the state each year to find work elsewhere, his promise of employment has struck a strong chord. His 17-month stint as deputy chief minister under Nitish Kumar during which he says he helped facilitate nearly five lakh government jobs is his key proof point. "We have shown it can be done," he repeats in rally after rally. Now, the promise is even bigger: a government job for every family within 20 months of forming a government, backed by a legislative guarantee.
The message resonates because the discontent it addresses is real. Bihar's labour force participation rate is among the lowest of large states, with a weak private sector, minimal industrial investment, and many educated youth struggling to find formal employment. In this context, Tejashwi's employment promise is both an economic argument and an emotional appeal, offering hope to end the generational cycle of migration. For many youth voters, he is the only leader speaking their language.
However, this popularity has revealed the Grand Alliance's fragile core. The Congress, Left parties, and smaller allies have failed to project comparable leaders. Their rallies are modest, and their messaging lacks consistency. With few strong secondary faces, the alliance's visibility largely depends on Tejashwi's presence. Party insiders admit that when Tejashwi isn't visiting a constituency, the campaign stalls. Voters associate the election primarily with him rather than the broader coalition. The Congress's weak local leadership and the Left's limited cadre presence outside their traditional strongholds leave large parts of the state without effective ground coordination.
For the ruling NDA, this overreliance presents both a challenge and an opportunity. BJP strategists acknowledge that Tejashwi's mass appeal, especially among first-time voters, is a significant concern. His youth and energy make him the only figure capable of matching the BJP's digital and emotional outreach. Yet they believe the alliance's dependence on one person makes it structurally vulnerable. Without an organisational bench or layered caste representation, the NDA strategists believe that the Grand Alliance will struggle to convert crowds into votes.
The paradox is clear. Tejashwi's solo effort gives the Grand Alliance momentum, but it also highlights its limits. His campaign looks and sounds dynamic from drone shots of massive rallies to helicopter backdrops and hopeful slogans about jobs but beneath the spectacle lies little institutional depth.
Despite his campaign prominence, Tejashwi Yadav has not directly confronted the "jungle raj" stigma long associated with his parents' rule. Rather than acknowledge or apologize for those charges, he counters by highlighting lawlessness and corruption under the current government, labelling it a "maha jungle raj". This refusal to engage with the past taint leaves a gap in his narrative some observers suggest that had he accepted responsibility or addressed these issues candidly, it could have undermined the BJP's sharpest attack line and changed the terms of the campaign debate.
For now, the Grand Alliance moves where Tejashwi's helicopter goes. Where it lands, crowds gather, where it lifts off, the campaign falls quiet.
