Virat Kohli played under my captaincy. I quit studies to pursue cricket.” This remark by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav went viral a few months ago. Responding to his critics who questioned his educational background, Tejashwi not only defended himself but also highlighted his cricketing past, mentioning that even a star like Kohli once played under him in Delhi’s under-17 team.
Now the Bihar Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial face, Tejashwi Yadav seems to have learned how to handle the bouncers of politics after nearly a decade in the game.
In 2013, Tejashwi quit cricket after an injury and stepped into a tougher pitch i.e. politics. He officially entered the field during the 2015 Assembly Bihar elections and became the Deputy Chief Minister at just 26.
However, the journey wasn’t smooth. When the government collapsed midway, Tejashwi took on a new role as the youngest Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Bihar Assembly.
In August 2022, he once again became Deputy Chief Minister, this time alongside Nitish Kumar, after the formation of the Mahagathbandhan with the RJD, Congress, and other opposition parties. But in 2024, Nitish switched sides to the BJP, bringing Tejashwi’s tenure to an end again.
Between 2015 and 2025, his political journey has seen several ups and downs. But this time, he has a crucial opportunity to prove himself, as he has been declared the chief ministerial face of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. This is why Tejashwi Yadav is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week.
A political journey full of ups and downs
Politics was never Tejashwi’s first career choice. He pursued cricket while studying at Delhi Public School, RK Puram and dropped out of Class X. A talented middle-order batsman known for his elegant cover drives, Tejashwi represented Delhi’s under-19 team during the same period as Virat Kohli. He also played a season for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy before being picked by the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, where he spent four seasons (from 2008 to 2012) on the reserve bench. By 2013, an injury and lack of opportunities prompted him to give up cricket and turn his focus entirely to politics.
Though he had begun campaigning as early as 2010, it was only in 2015, after turning 25, that he contested his first election when JDU and RJD together formed the government.
Months before the alliance collapsed, a CBI case was registered against Tejashwi with the state government’s consent in connection with a ‘land-for-hotel’ scam. Tejashwi accused the BJP of indulging in vendetta politics. The Mahagathbandhan eventually fell apart in July 2017 when Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA.
During the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, Tejashwi successfully built a strong narrative in his favour, even as Lalu Prasad Yadav was serving a prison sentence for multiple fodder scam convictions. However, the RJD-Congress-Left alliance fell just short of a majority and Tejashwi narrowly missed the chance to become Bihar’s youngest Chief Minister.
His debut on the political pitch was promising, but the journey since then has been filled with ups and downs. Still, in the later part of his career, he managed to remain at the centre of Bihar’s political landscape.
Also read: In Bihar, BJP is courting upper castes—a clear shift from its 2020 strategy
Emerged as a sharp leader
In recent years, Tejashwi has worked to broaden his social base by giving more tickets and organisational posts to non-Yadav communities such as Kurmis, Kushwahas, and Koeris. He also expanded the Mahagathbandhan’s fold by including smaller parties like the Vikassheel Insaan Party, which focuses on Mallahas and Nishads, and the Indian Inclusive Party, which represents EBCs. Unlike Akhilesh Yadav, he has not coined a slogan like PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak), but his politics since the 2020 election loss closely resembles that approach.
In these polls, to counter Nitish Kumar’s strategy of appealing to women voters, Tejashwi has unveiled a series of promises targeting the state’s 1.25 crore Jeevika workers, women associated with the World Bank-aided Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP). He has pledged to provide permanent jobs with a monthly salary of Rs 30,000, waive interest on loans for two years, and offer an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per worker.
Other major announcements include the MAA (Makaan, Anna, Aamdani: House, Food, and Income) and BETI (Benefit, Education, Training, Income) schemes, both extensions of the Mahagathbandhan proposed ”Mai Bahin Yojana”, which promises monthly assistance of Rs 2,500 to women.
Targeting another key vote bank i.e. the youth seeking government jobs, Tejashwi promised employment for every household in Bihar and pledged to introduce the legislation within 20 days of taking office. “The NDA government couldn’t provide jobs to the youth in 20 years, but we will bring the Act within 20 days of coming to power and ensure its implementation within 20 months,” Tejashwi said in a statement.
“We provided more than five lakh jobs in just 17 months. Imagine what could have been achieved had we completed a full five-year term,” he added, referring to his tenure in the previous grand alliance government.
Another challenge Tejashwi has successfully navigated is pushing Congress to the backfoot and securing his announcement as the Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial face. In the weeks leading up to Diwali, coordination between the RJD and Congress appeared uncertain.
However, Tejashwi did not step back and compelled Congress to officially declare him as their CM candidate. Sources close to him reveal that he insisted the announcement be made, not only to prevent confusion within the alliance but also to create a narrative that would pressure the NDA to reveal their own CM face.
The Bihar election, which seemed tough for the Mahagathbandhan, has become more interesting after they announced their chief ministerial candidate. With Tejashwi as the alliance’s face, the MGB can now attack the NDA for not having a clear leader.
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(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)