After filing nomination on Wednesday from Raghopur for the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, former Deputy Chief Minister of the state Tejashwi Yadav launched a sharp attack on JD(U) leaders Sanjay Jha, Vijay Chaudhary, and Lalan Singh, alleging they sold out the party to the BJP while destroying Nitish Kumar’s political identity.
Making these remarks, Tejashwi stressed on the surnames of the three leaders, who come from the upper castes. With this, he made an attempt to convey the message that the JD(U) is no longer the same party that was led by Nitish Kumar, who comes from the Kurmi OBC community. It has been hijacked by upper caste leaders, he said.
The JD(U) has traditionally been considered as a party largely supported by the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) and economically deprived OBC communities.
The RJD leader also said that the people of Bihar want change this time and promised it will happen.
He asserted, “People are tired of the same old, worn-out government of the past 20 years. Now the people want change, and change will happen. In the double-engine government, one engine is involved in corruption and the other in crime.”
Earlier, Tejashwi filed nomination to contest the Assembly elections from this seat for the third time. He was accompanied by his father and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, mother Rabri Devi, and sister Misa Bharti.
Raghopur has been a traditional stronghold of the RJD. Former Bihar Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi have both represented this constituency in the past.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor had earlier indicated that he would contest from Raghopur, drawing everyone’s attention to this high-profile seat, where an intense contest was expected.
However, Prashant Kishor withdrew from the contest. Instead, Jan Suraaj has fielded Chanchal Kumar Singh as its candidate from Raghopur.
Meanwhile, the NDA has not yet declared a candidate for this seat, leading to confusion and uncertainty among NDA workers and leaders.
Addressing speculation that he might contest from two seats, Tejashwi clarified that he will contest only from Raghopur.
“The people of Raghopur have trusted me twice before. I am fully confident they will place their trust in me for the third time as well.”