RJD turns 30: Lalu Yadav says the party is not just an ‘election-fighting machine’, calls for fight against ‘authoritarian’ BJP

The Rashtriya Janata Dal turned 30 on Sunday, and founding president Lalu Prasad Yadav used the occasion to send a clear message to his party. According to him, RJD is not built for elections alone.

In a Facebook post marking the milestone, Yadav told party comrades that RJD must function as a frontline force against what he described as authoritarianism and the ideologies pushed by the BJP.

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He framed this as more than a political stance, describing it as a responsibility the party needs to actively embrace.

RJD’s development philosophy

Yadav spent a good portion of his message explaining what RJD’s version of development actually looks like. According to him, the party’s priority has always been the poor, the aggrieved, the marginalised, the weak, and the downtrodden.

He said that even as times have changed, RJD’s politics remain firmly opposed to both socio-economic inequality and communalism.

Not just malls and airports

Yadav made a pointed distinction between RJD’s vision of progress and the kind typically showcased through glossy infrastructure. He said their model of development is not limited to gleaming airports, lavish malls, or glittering hotels.

Instead, he said the party has focus on ensuring that the poor and the last person in society have genuine participation and stake in every aspect of development, not just the visible, polished outcomes.

Thinking about the workers behind the buildings

Yadav specifically spoke about the people responsible for constructing these very malls, hotels, and airports. He said RJD’s real goal is to bring meaningful, positive change to the lives of the craftsmen, labourers, and artisans who build them, along with the employees working inside these spaces and their families.

He was firm on this point, stating that the party will accept nothing less than that outcome.

Taking aim at the BJP

Yadav did not hold back when addressing the BJP directly. He accused the party of functioning in an authoritarian manner, alleging it is pushing the country backwards by capturing constitutional institutions and sidelining the Constitution itself.

He pointed to recent election results across several states as evidence of this pattern, suggesting that a closer analysis reveals the BJP’s broader strategy at play.

Message to his own party

Yadav was direct with his own party workers too. He said RJD’s politics simply does not allow the party to accept this situation quietly. He urged every colleague within the party to prepare for what he called a historic role, without wasting any time.

Lalu Prasad Yadav reminded party workers and leaders that RJD is not merely an election fighting machine, encouraging them to understand the deeper responsibility the party carries in the current political climate.

Yadav went a step further, stating that RJD is the only party currently capable of realising the dreams of the needy in today’s political landscape.

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