How Tejashwi Yadav drew large crowds to his numerous rallies

While the counting is underway, several exit polls have already given him an edge over other parties

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav addresses an election campaign rally for Assembly polls, at Bochha in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. Credit: PTI Photo

A day before counting began in Bihar, on Tejashwi Yadav's birthday, his supporters did two things: wished him a happy birthday and presumptively declared him the new Chief Minister of Bihar.

The RJD leader, the heir of party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, has raised the brows of many political pundits and has left the incumbent BJP-JD(U) sweating.

While counting is underway, several exit polls have already given him an edge over other parties.

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The roots of his skyrocketing popularity and the large crowds that turned up at his rallies lie in his approach to the election campaign. PM Modi and Nitish Kumar consistently took jibes at Tejashwi, calling him 'Jungle ke Yuvaraj' and attacking the law and order situation in Bihar under RJD chief ministers. On the other hand, Tejashwi continued to address issues in Bihar related to employment, healthcare and education for several generations,

For most of the election season, he ignored the NDA's attacks on RJD and continued to address issues that concerned the voters.

He also rallied around on a gruelling schedule, addressing over 15 rallies every day. He maximised his reach to most corners of the state addressing issues such as migration and unemployment, concerns that remain ubiquitous to Bihar.

“It is on this front (the agenda) where Nitish and Modi have erred and failed to catch up with the young lad who has been drawing a huge crowd at his every rally, so much so that the RJD had to write to EC to enhance Tejashwi’s security,” veteran journalist of a national daily Rakesh Pandey told Deccan Herald.

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NDA continued to highlight RJD's rule in Bihar but the 'jungle raj' was over 15 years ago thus Tejashwi's approach radiated relevance.

He claimed that through his rallies people of Bihar felt heard. "Seems like the people of Bihar did not get to connect with anyone or speak to anyone in a long time. It was the 'Mann ki Baat' model, the no-press-conference model. Office-bearers and leaders would come and talk but do not give (people) any indication that they had been heard," he had said.