"Baap ka raj hai kya? There should be an FIR against him for trying to whip up communal tension," said Tejashwi Yadav last week as he condemned a contentious statement by a BJP MLA in Bihar who asked Muslims to "stay indoors" during Holi.
Tejashwi further added that Bihar remains a state where the "designs of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar have often been foiled.”
The RJD leader's sharp rebuttal to MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul of Bisfi Assembly constituency resonates deeply with Bihar's political ethos, which has long been shaped by secular and socialist ideologies. His statement that "with every Muslim in the state, there are at least four Hindus standing" is being viewed as his commitment to social harmony.
Tejashwi’s rebuttal gains significance amid a series of controversial remarks from saffron brigade leaders. His response is aimed to reaffirm his commitment to secularism and pluralism in an increasingly polarised climate.
Countering BJP’s Communal Rhetoric
Addressing the Ramayana Mela’s inaugural ceremony in Ayodhya in December last year, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath drew comparisons between “rioters in Sambhal" (read Muslims) and those who had attacked minorities in Bangladesh.
“Remember what Babur’s men did in Ayodhya Kumbh 500 years ago. The same happened in Sambhal, and the same is happening in Bangladesh. The nature of the three and their DNA is the same. If someone believes that this is happening in Bangladesh, the same is happening here too. They have made full arrangements to break social unity."UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
Over the past week, BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have made communal statements targeting Muslims.
CM Adityanath defended Sambhal Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary who told Muslims to "stay indoors" if they are uncomfortable with Holi colours because the festival coincided with the second Friday of Ramzan.
UP BJP leader Raghuraj Singh suggested Muslim men wear tarpaulin hijabs during Holi to avoid inconvenience.
BJP MLA Ketaki Singh demanded a separate medical college wing for Muslims in UP’s Ballia. She claimed it would ensure Hindu safety. Supporting Raghuraj Singh’s remarks, she said Muslims averse to colours should "stay indoors" on Holi.
West Bengal BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari threatened to “physically throw out” Muslim MLAs once the party formed the government.
Reviving Secular and Socialist Politics
In this context, Tejashwi’s strong political positioning displays commitment to protecting Bihar's secular ethos and putting forward the socialist ideology of his father, Lalu Prasad Yadav. This is not mere rhetoric but a necessity for survival in Bihar’s political landscape as a counterweight to the BJP’s Hindutva-driven agenda.
As DM Diwakar, former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies in Patna, says, “Tejashwi has so far been consistent in following secularism and socialism.”
However, in a political environment where caste-based hierarchies and economic disparities persist, his challenge is not only to uphold these values, but also to make them electorally viable.
Based on corporate-friendly policies and upper-caste Hindu appeasement, the BJP’s model of governance stands in sharp contrast to framework of socialism which Lalu Yadav once championed. The BJP’s neoliberal economic policies—disinvestment, dilution of labour rights, and privatisation—have pushed marginalised communities further to the periphery.
One of India’s most socio-economically disadvantaged states, Bihar has little to gain from such policies. This is where Tejashwi’s socialist argument becomes a political necessity rather than just an ideological preference.
The Challenge of Expanding Political Alliances
Tejashwi’s political arithmetic revolves around the Muslim-Yadav alliance, which accounts for nearly 32 percent of Bihar’s electorate. However, as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar strategically wooed the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), who make up 36 percent of voters, he disrupted the RJD's arithmetic.
With its divisive tactics, the BJP has capitalised on this to fragment the Opposition. Tejashwi’s call for a return to socialist and secular values, in this scenario, is not just a moral stance—it is an essential counter-strategy.
“The Yadavs should not act samanti (feudal) but samajwadi (socialist),” Tejashwi once said at an event commemorating former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur’s death anniversary.
Invoking stalwarts such as Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Karpoori Thakur, and Charan Singh, he attempted to align himself with a broader socialist tradition rather than limiting himself to his father’s brand of politics. This shift is crucial because Bihar’s electoral battles are no longer just about caste equations—they are about larger economic and ideological struggles.
Bihar’s socio-political history has repeatedly demonstrated that socialist movements emerge when the system fails the underprivileged. The BJP’s model of governance, which centralises power and wealth, inherently contradicts the decentralised, community-based leadership that socialism advocates.
As Diwakar says, “The BJP knows well that it can grab power in Bihar only by weakening Nitish Kumar. It has roped in Prashant Kishor to divide Muslim and secular votes.” Therefore, Tejashwi’s challenge is not just to maintain the Muslim-Yadav alliance but to extend it to include EBCs and Dalits who have been alienated by Nitish’s wavering stance on social justice.
The Road Ahead: Reclaiming Socialist Principles
The core of Tejashwi’s socialist argument lies in his critique of majoritarianism. The BJP’s Hindutva ideology marginalises not only Muslims but also lower-caste Hindus who do not fit into the upper-caste-dominated power structure.
Lalu Yadav’s appeal to the backward classes was based on the principle of ‘social justice’—a term that the BJP has deliberately diluted through symbolic gestures rather at the expense of substantive policy changes. Tejashwi has an opportunity to reclaim this narrative by placing economic redistribution and affirmative action at the centre of his politics.
Lalu Yadav often likened the Yadavs to an engine, stating that their role was to carry along the bogies—representing the marginalised. But the reality is more complex: if socialism is to be the driving force, the bogies must be empowered rather than merely carried along.
Tejashwi must go beyond his father’s brand of caste-based mobilisation and focus on secularism and structural reforms in the economic sphere—equitable distribution of state resources, labour rights, reservation in the private sector, and land redistribution.
The timing of Tejashwi’s political maneuverings is important. With Nitish’s governance faltering and the BJP’s centralisation of power threatening Bihar’s federal structure, the state is at a crossroads. The RJD’s return to power would mean a revival of socialist principles, but it must be a modernised socialism that addresses contemporary issues of economic disparity, unemployment, and the erosion of social justice.
More than a contest of just numbers, the 2025 elections in the state will be an ideological battle. Tejashwi’s ability to translate socialist rhetoric into actionable policies will determine his party’s success.
Will he be able to convince Bihar’s electorate that secularism and socialism are not relics of the past but a necessary corrective to the BJP’s divisive and corporate-driven governance?
The answer will shape Bihar’s political future for years to come.
(The author is a Delhi-based journalist who writes on politics and human rights. This is an opinion piece, and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)