In the latest episode of The Statesman Talk, Janata Dal (United) leader K.C. Tyagi speaks to Ananya Dasgupta on the Bihar mandate, Nitish Kumar’s legacy and the road ahead.
Excerpts:
Q: Were you surprised by the scale of the NDA sweep?
K.C. Tyagi: Not surprised at all. We always said JD(U) would cross 80 seats on its own. In 2020, we won 43 seats because Chirag Paswan’s LJP cut into our votes in almost 40 constituencies and Upendra Kushwaha’s party also took a few more. This time, with a clear NDA front, a sympathy wave for Nitish Kumar and his track record, the result was on expected lines.
Q: What, in your view, did the Bihar voter really vote for this time?
K.C. Tyagi: Primarily for Nitish Kumar’s clean image and performance. He is seen as a leader who does not indulge in money-making or dynasty politics. The voters saw the progress in law and order. People contrasted him with the Lalu Prasad family — wife as CM, brother-in-law in politics, two sons fighting each other, daughters contesting Lok Sabha seats against each other. Nitish emerged from the JP and Karpoori Thakur movement that always opposed dynastic succession. That contrast was stark.
The second big factor was two decades of genuine women empowerment—not just an election-eve ₹10,000 scheme. Fifty per cent reservation in panchayats and Nagar Palika was brought in in 2006, a year in which there was no election. In 2007, 35 per cent reservation was brought in in the police. Now you will see every third police personnel in Bihar is a woman.
The cycle scheme, Jeevika groups, girl education initiatives and now direct economic support – everything added to the empowerment of women. It’s about decades of empowerment initiatives, not a one-off scheme.
Q: This time female turnout was 71.6 per cent against 62.8 per cent male.
K.C. Tyagi: I want to tell you an interesting story, which I am sharing for the first time. Our friend Sharad Yadav opposed 33% reservation for women, if you remember. He thought upper caste and middle-class women will be benefitted. In their 50-year friendship, that was the only occasion where Nitish Kumar differed with our leader Sharad Yadav. He insisted on 33% reservation for women and suggested there could be quota within quota.
And one more thing, women, especially in rural areas, complained earlier to Nitish Kumar about liquor consumption and resulting domestic violence. Now, latest figures show a reduction in cases of domestic violence. It is a matter of great relief for these women.
Wherever I went with Nitish Kumar for meetings, there were 70-80% women in attendance. That was a cultural revolution of sorts.
In villages, some men were actually complaining, “Why is Nitish Kumar giving so much power to women?” That itself shows the depth of change.
Q: The Congress and some others alleged EVM tampering and raised questions about the Election Commission. Your response now that the results are out?
K.C. Tyagi: It was not ‘vote chori’. I have tracked politics for over 50 years, including the Emergency when I was in jail. The Congress has lost its mass base. It has lost Dalit votes, backward classes, the upper castes and even the Muslim vote, which has shifted to strong regional parties—SP in UP, RJD in Bihar, TMC in Bengal, DMK in Tamil Nadu. It is not ‘vote chori’ but ‘Jan aadhaar chori’ or mass base loss. When you lose connection with the ground, every defeat looks like a conspiracy.
Q: Do you agree with the view that aggressive Muslim vote-bank politics ends up consolidating Hindu votes?
K.C. Tyagi: As socialists, we believe in democracy, socialism and secularism. There should be no politics that divides the country on communal lines—neither a Hindu vote-bank party nor a Muslim vote-bank party. The country belongs to all; hatred against any community has no place.
Q: What went wrong for the RJD this time?
K.C. Tyagi: The era of the kind of politics Lalu Yadav practised is over. We worked with him for years, but after he became the Chief Minister, law and order collapsed and politics became about instigating one section against another. That politics of perpetual hostility and caste wars has been rejected. Society has moved forward.
Q: And Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj campaign?
K.C. Tyagi: Prashant is a friend and a brilliant election strategist, but he is an election machine, not a political activist rooted in ideology. Despite all his efforts, the election boiled down to a single question: “Do you want the old jungle raj back or not?” Those who didn’t, wanted only one clear option—the NDA. That polarisation finished Jan Suraaj.
Q: Nitish Kumar turns 74 this year. How does JD(U) plan leadership transition going forward?
K.C. Tyagi: There is no provision for dynastic succession in the socialist movement, and Nitish Kumar is particularly opposed to it. Neither his son nor any family member is in politics, and there is no sign that will change. The party works collectively under his leadership and will continue to do so.
Q: Yet an NDA ally, Upendra Kushwaha, has just made his son a minister though the son is not even an elected MLA.
K.C. Tyagi: Upendra is an old comrade, but he should have avoided this. It would have been better if he had nominated someone else. This was entirely his party’s decision; JD(U) was neither consulted nor is part of it.
Q: Is there still a national role for Nitish Kumar?
K.C. Tyagi: Not right now. It was Nitish who first started the process of opposition unity. He organised the Hisar rally with leaders from across the spectrum, then went to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi requesting a structured opposition platform. Meetings were held in Patna, Bengaluru, Mumbai—but the Congress leadership wanted either Sonia or Rahul to be the sole centre. No clear programme emerged. Nitish got disillusioned. Today he is happy shaping Bihar’s future, and we are happy with that.
Q: Finally, there are local reports of some unease in JD(U), whispers of MLAs possibly switching sides. Any truth in those reports?
K.C. Tyagi: Almost every MLA, minister and MP in JD(U) today is a product of the Nitish phenomenon. In the last twenty years there has been no major defection. Even when our tallest leader Sharad Yadav left, not one MLA or MP followed him. Anyone trying to engineer defections now will fail. As long as Nitish Kumar is at the helm—and we pray for his good health—the party remains rock solid.
Q: You mentioned about Nitish Kumar at the helm. There are some reports of concern regarding his health. I will ask this again- is there any talk in the party about a succession plan?
K.C. Tyagi: True to the traditions of democracy, we will collectively work together and try to manage things if anything happens wrong in the party.