RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was chosen on Monday as the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly after his party secured exactly 25 seats, the minimum required to claim the post in the 243-member House.
Tejashwi, who initially trailed by a significant margin during the vote count, eventually reclaimed his home turf of Raghopur, defeating BJP candidate Satish Kumar by 14,532 votes. His late surge, however, sparked sharp political reactions.
Congress leader Udit Raj alleged that Tejashwi’s victory was not organic but “engineered”. Speaking to ANI, he claimed that the BJP and the Election Commission had “orchestrated” the result to make the elections appear credible. According to him, the RJD leader’s sudden turnaround after trailing all day raised questions.
“He did not win — they made him win to maintain the illusion of a fair election. EVMs and SIR were tools to shape the outcome, and this is dangerous for the Constitution,” he said.
The broader opposition faced a heavy setback, with the RJD crashing from 75 seats in 2020 to just 25, and the Congress dropping to six wins out of 61 seats, well below its previous tally of 19.