‘Inauspicious Signs’: Shivananad Tiwari Raises Sharp Questions Over Tejashwi Yadav’s Leadership

Patna:
After the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) defeat in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, signs of unease within the party are becoming increasingly visible. Senior RJD leader and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s long-time associate Shivananad Tiwari has once again publicly questioned the leadership style of Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, calling recent developments “inauspicious” for the party’s future.

Tiwari expressed concern over the manner in which Tejashwi Yadav was received upon his return to Patna after a family vacation. He pointed out that not a single RJD MLA was present at the airport to welcome the party’s tallest leader in the Assembly. Instead, he said, the scene was dominated by television cameras rather than party workers, a situation he described as deeply worrying in the aftermath of an electoral defeat.

Adding to his criticism, Tiwari noted that Tejashwi proceeded directly from the airport to his residence, bypassing the party office altogether. According to him, a leader who has just suffered a major electoral setback should be visible on the ground, engaging with party workers and legislators to rebuild confidence and morale. “These are not healthy signs for a political organisation,” he remarked, hinting at a growing disconnect between the leadership and the cadre.

Tejashwi Yadav, meanwhile, struck a conciliatory and forward-looking tone on his return. He said the RJD would give the newly formed NDA government 100 days to prove its performance before conducting a detailed review. At the same time, he attacked the “double-engine” government on issues such as corruption, migration of youth, and the poor state of healthcare in Bihar. He also reminded the government of its election promise to provide ₹2 lakh in financial assistance to women.

This is not the first time Shivananad Tiwari has questioned Tejashwi’s approach. Earlier, he had criticised the young leader’s foreign trips soon after the election loss. In a recent Facebook post, Tiwari advised Tejashwi to act less like a distant leader and more like a grassroots worker, meeting people, accepting the verdict with humility, and rebuilding the party from the ground up.

Tiwari’s remarks have reignited a debate within the RJD over leadership, strategy, and the party’s ability to play an effective opposition role over the next five years. While no leader has openly challenged the Lalu family’s dominance, the sharp tone of these comments suggests that beneath the surface, the party is grappling with serious questions about its direction and future.