How Tejashwi blunted NDA's dynasty politics jibe on RJD

In his initial pair of campaign rallies in Bihar—Jamui on April 4 and Nawada on April 7—Prime Minister Narendra Modi fired a volley of criticisms at the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Opposition in the state, but did not directly rake up the issue of dynastic politics. Perhaps it was because of the familial connections of two National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates—Arun Bharti in Jamui and Vivek Thakur in Nawada. Bharti is Chirag Paswan’s brother-in-law while Thakur is the scion of BJP stalwart and former Union minister C.P. Thakur.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, however, took a direct aim at the RJD dynasty in his Nawada rally on April 12, contrasting it with his own 18-year-long tenure that he said was devoid of nepotism. “How many people of one family are contesting the elections?” asked Nitish, pointing to the burgeoning RJD dynasty.

Two days on, in a curious turn of events, leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav took to social media platform X to share a segment of Nitish’s April 12 speech, underscoring the latter’s questioning of familial political ventures. While Nitish’s remarks seemed aimed at the RJD’s decision to field Tejashwi’s sisters Misa Bharti (from Pataliputra) and Rohini Acharya (from Saran), Tejashwi’s post juxtaposed images of other NDA candidates with family lineage in politics.

The post featured Jamui contestant Arun Bharti alongside Shambhavi Choudhary, daughter of Janata Dal (United) minister Ashok Choudhary, and BJP state president Samrat Choudhary, the son of politician Shakuni Choudhary. Though Tejashwi’s post doesn’t absolve the RJD of familial politics, it effectively exposes the NDA’s own entanglement in similar practices.

The BJP-led NDA, known for fervently decrying the RJD’s dynastic politics, has paradoxically fielded a notable contingent of political scions for the Lok Sabha elections in Bihar. With candidates declared for all 40 seats in the state, the NDA roster boasts of 11 relatives, including sons, daughters and sons-in-law from established political families.

Among the BJP candidates, four inheritors stand out: Ashok Yadav, son of sitting Madhubani MP Hukumdev Narayan Yadav, is contesting from the same seat; Sanjay Jaiswal, former state BJP chief and son of former MP Madan Jaiswal, is seeking re-election from West Champaran; Sushil Kumar Singh, son of former MP Ram Naresh Singh, is eyeing a fourth consecutive victory in Aurangabad; and Vivek Thakur is in the fray in Nawada.

The JD(U) follows suit with its own array of dynastic hopefuls, such as Sunil Kumar, son of former minister Baidyanath Mahato, from Sitamarhi; Lovely Anand, wife of former MP Anand Mohan, in Sheohar; and Vijaylakshmi Devi, wife of former MLA Ramesh Kushwaha, contesting from Siwan.

However, it’s Chirag’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) that steals the spotlight with the number of familial legacies among its candidates. Chirag, the son of late Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, is seeking election from his father’s stronghold of Hajipur, while brother-in-law Arun Bharti is in the fray in Jamui. Shambhavi Choudhury is the party nominee from Samastipur and Veena Devi, wife of JD(U) MLC Dinesh Singh, is aiming for victory in Vaishali under the banner of Chirag’s party. Four of the five LJP (Ram Vilas) candidates have a clear political lineage.

The saga of familial politics in Bihar, however, is far from linear, with rivalries often resembling shifting sand dunes in the desert. Beneath the surface, simmering tensions are poised to erupt at any moment. The plot thickens with the intriguing case of Sumit Singh, a minister in Nitish’s fold, whose elder brother Ajay Pratap defected to the RJD on April 6.

Ajay Pratap, wasting no time, hit the campaign trail for Archana Ravidas, the RJD candidate in Jamui. Ravidas faces off against Chirag’s relative Arun Bharti, it all emblematic of the labyrinthine intricacies of Bihar’s political landscape. Another minister, Maheshwar Hazari, grapples with similar rebellion at home. His son, Sunny Hazari, has taken up the Congress banner, potentially challenging Shambhavi Choudhary.

Chirag, heir to Ram Vilas’s political legacy, has also spun an intricate web of familial politics. He has denied a ticket to cousin Prince Paswan besides usurping uncle Pashupati Paras’s Hajipur seat, which will further stir up discord within the Paswan family.

Paras and Prince had, in June 2021, challenged Chirag’s leadership in a rebellion that split the LJP down the middle. The BJP’s embrace of Pashupati Paras and his faction during that tumultuous period is now being reciprocated by a ruthless Chirag, albeit with a calculated delay.

Clearly, the spectacle of familial politics refuses to fade into obscurity in Bihar, with its twists and turns captivating observers at every juncture.

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