RJD will expand beyond Bihar, aspire to become national party: Tejashwi Yadav

RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav announced that his party would “expand its base” beyond Bihar, moving away from its earlier policy of refraining from contesting polls in other States to avoid division of “secular votes”.

The former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister was addressing a function in Patna on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) to mark the 38th death anniversary of Karpoori Thakur, the political mentor of his father and RJD founding president Lalu Prasad.

“From March, we will embark on a drive to strengthen the party. Lalu Prasad had made the RJD a major force in the State. We must take his work forward and aspire to achieving the status of a national party,” said Mr. Yadav.

“In the days to come, we will try to expand our base not just in Bihar but also in other states, where we had so far not been entering the fray to help our allies so that there is no division in secular votes,” he added.

The RJD is a key constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc.

Mr. Yadav also urged party workers to remember that “we lost the assembly polls in Bihar not because we were weak, but because we had fallen on hard times. Our time is bound to come”.

“Lalu Prasad gave me a big responsibility last month when I was made the national working president of the RJD. With the support of you all, I see no reason why we shall not become a force to reckon with,” he added.

Mr. Yadav, who is currently the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly, also alleged that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was “achet” (not in his senses) and was running his government as a “kathputli” (puppet) of influential bureaucrats and his domineering ally, the BJP.

“I had said that I would keep quiet till this government completes 100 days. The deadline will be over in four days. We will take the ruling dispensation to task for its failure to fulfil promises made during elections, many of which were ideas borrowed from us,” he said.