Tejashwi Yadav appointed as RJD's national working president

Tejashwi Yadav has been appointed as the national working president of the RJD by the party chief Lalu Prasad at the party’s national executive meeting in Patna on Sunday (January 25).

“Dawn of a New Era! Shri @yadavtejashwi Ji has been appointed as the National Executive President of Rashtriya Janata Dal! @yadavtejashwi,” the RJD stated in a post on X.

The national executive meeting was attended by Lalu Yadav and his wife, Rabri Devi. The RJD chief handed the appointment letter to his son, Tejashwi. Other senior RJD leaders were also present at the meeting.

However, despite Tejashwi leading RJD in the last Bihar Assembly, the party got a drubbing at the hands of the BJP and JD(U) with the NDA returning to power in Bihar with a bigger mandate.

Misa Bharti attends meeting

Yadav’s eldest sister and Patliputra MP Misa Bharti, who was said to be eying that party post, was present at the meeting.

Tejashwi, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

On Saturday, he had appeared confident of his elevation in the party, as he had told workers at the RJD office that he was thinking of revamping the party structure from the booth level.

Also Read: Rohini Acharya takes a swipe at Tejashwi Yadav, warns of ‘infiltrators’ in RJD

Yadav and his close aides, like Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Yadav, were squarely blamed for the poll debacle by his elder sister Rohini Acharya, who also alleged that when she insisted that accountability be fixed, abuses were hurled at her.

Yadav’s elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, who had made his political debut along with the former in 2015, was expelled from the party by Prasad last year. Tej Pratap has since floated his own outfit, Janshakti Janta Dal, which is yet to make an impact.

Early life and career

Tejashwi was born on November 9, 1989, in Gopalganj and is the youngest of nine siblings, with seven sisters and an elder brother. He spent his early years in Patna before moving to Delhi, where he studied at Delhi Public School, RK Puram, reported NDTV.

Also Read: Lalu Prasad breaks silence on Rohini–Tejashwi family feud

A budding cricketer in his younger days, Yadav was an all-rounder and captained his school team. He went on to represent India at the Under-19 World Cup and was part of the Delhi Daredevils squad between 2008 and 2012, though he never featured in an IPL match. His brief stint in professional cricket, however, helped him build visibility, particularly among young voters in Bihar.

Political debut

Yadav’s political entry came in 2010, even as he was still involved in cricket. Under the guidance of his father, he began campaigning for the RJD and played a role in strengthening the party’s digital presence and election outreach.

In 2015, he won his first Assembly election from Raghopur as part of the Mahagathbandhan. At 26, he was sworn in as Bihar’s youngest deputy chief minister. After Nitish Kumar exited the alliance in 2017, Yadav took over as Leader of the Opposition, and by 2018, he had emerged as the RJD’s de facto leader.