Tejashwi Yadav : Failure Cricketer To Successful Politician

RJD, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, might not have grabbed power in Bihar. However, the party won 75 seats and emerged as the single largest party whereas BJP secured 74 seats and JD(U) got 43 seats. The BJP-JD(U) combine is forming the government. However, RJD gave a tough fight as Opposition. Congress, that contested 70 seats but won only mere 19 seats, is seen as the reason for the Mahagathbandhan. Now, all eyes are on RJD and its young and dynamic leader Tejashwi Yadav.

From a failure cricketer to masterminding the RJD campaign in Bihar polls, 32-year-old Tejashwi Yadav proved his mettle. He proved himself as a worthy successor to his father Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Tejashwi, the second son of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, used to practice cricket. Even for party leaders and workers, Tejashwi was an aspiring cricketer practicing inside Bihar CM’s Residency at 1, Animarg when his parents were ruling. During then, no one in the party had even remotely thought that he would lead the party one day.

Cricket Career

With interest in cricket, Tejashwi had given up his education after 9th class. He had played first class cricket for the Jharkhand team. As a first class cricketer, his batting average was not impressive. Even in the T-20 Cricket, he didn’t do well. While he was part of the Delhi team in 2008-12 IPL season, he didn’t get a chance to play a single match. At that point Lalu Prasad had openly joked that Tejashwi was supplying water and carrying water bottles and he would bat one day. But destiny has different plans.

Political Debut

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Lalu Prasad Yadav wanted Tejashwi Yadav to take part in the poll campaign. Tejashwi Yadav along with Chirag Paswan (son of Ram Vilas Paswan) had taken blessings and touched the feet of BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi who was then waiting at a helipad for the poll campaign. Later Tejashwi participated in the poll campaign for RJD in 2009 and the reception was good. That’s the political debut of Tejashwi Yadav. 11 years later, Tejashwi Yadav contested against Sushil Kumar Modi.

44,000 Marriage Proposals

In the 2015 Assembly election, Tejashwi Yadav and his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav had contested from Raghopur and Mahua Assembly constituency. Lalu Prasad Yadav had supported Nitish Kumar as the CM and younger son Tejashwi Yadav stood by his father’s decision. As Lalu chose Tejashwi as his political successor, Nitish Kumar has made Tejashwi Yadav as the Deputy CM of Bihar. He was allotted Roads and Buildings Construction Minister. Lalu had handpicked the IAS officers team to support Tejashwi. That’s when Tejashwi had shared his WhatsApp number publicly seeking complaints and problems about Roads in the state. More than the complaints and problems, he had received over 44,000 marriage proposals. In 2017, Nitish Kumar had walked out of the alliance and joined the NDA.

Sibling Rivalry

Tejashwi Yadav has sibling rivalry with his own elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav and own sister Misa Bharti. The sibling rivalry caused a huge damage to the RJD Party. Tejashwi had openly made allegations against his big brother accusing him of creating troubles for his political journey. This family feud had a huge effect on the party. The 2019 election was a nightmare for the RJD. The party couldn’t even win a single seat.

Zero To Hero

Tejashwi Yadav has turned the tables. His mastermind worked big for the party in 2020 where he single handedly led the RJD to the single-largest party in Bihar in the 2020 election by bagging 75 seats. While BJP and JD(U) might have formed the government in Bihar, RJD is going to play a major role. Leaders like Uma Bharti openly stated that Tejashwi Yadav is going to be the future CM of Bihar. From a failure cricketer to a failure student to a failure actor to a successful politician, Tejashwi Yadav had come a long way.