Tejashwi Yadav, the Chief Ministerial face of the Mahagathbandhan, has retained his family bastion of Raghopur, winning by a margin of 11,000 votes after a tense, see-saw battle throughout the day with the NDA’s Satish Kumar Yadav.
Despite the overall poor performance of the Opposition alliance across Bihar, the 36-year-old RJD leader managed to hold on to the seat that has long been synonymous with the Yadav family. Raghopur has previously been represented by his father Lalu Prasad Yadav and mother Rabri Devi, and Tejashwi himself has held the seat since 2015. In 2020, he had won by a much larger margin of over 38,000 votes.
Ahead of the counting, Tejashwi had said he was confident the Mahagathbandhan would form the government, telling reporters, “It will be a people’s victory. Change will come. We are forming the government.”
This year’s contest in Raghopur drew additional attention because of multiple challengers. Besides BJP’s Satish Kumar Yadav, who famously defeated Rabri Devi in 2010, the Jan Suraaj Party also fielded a candidate. Another contender was Prem Kumar, from Janshakti Janata Dal, a party founded by Tejashwi’s estranged brother Tej Pratap Yadav, adding a layer of political intrigue to the race.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor had stirred buzz months earlier by hinting he might contest from Raghopur, but later announced that he would stay focused on his statewide campaign instead.
