Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav is set to embark on an ambitious tour of Bihar, spanning all 38 districts of the state over the course of 11 days, starting Tuesday. Named the Jan Vishwas Yatra, the tour aims to engage with the masses and regain public confidence following Yadav's recent loss of the deputy chief minister's position. Beginning the journey from Muzaffarpur, Yadav plans to hold public meetings in Sitamarhi and Sheohar before concluding the day's travels with a night halt in Motihari, the headquarters of East Champaran district.
Ahead of the launch of his tour, Tejashwi Yadav took to Facebook late Monday evening to address his followers, where he characterized Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as an outdated leader who should voluntarily relinquish his position. Yadav, the younger son and presumed successor of RJD president Lalu Prasad, also asserted that he was not disheartened by his party's loss of power due to Kumar's recent change of stance.
Yadav further criticized Nitish Kumar, stating that Bihar requires stability and forward-thinking leadership, qualities which Kumar lacks due to his inconsistent decisions and inability to innovate. Despite this, Yadav alleged that during their 17-month tenure of power sharing, they influenced Kumar to make bold decisions, particularly in alignment with RJD's commitment to generate 10 lakh government jobs. Yadav even asserted that their initiatives prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to emulate their approach by organizing job fairs.
Taunting his former boss, who is now back in the BJP-led NDA, the RJD leader said, Nitish Kumar has been uneasy over his JD(U)'s decline and it is rumoured that he wants early dissolution of the assembly. He believes that if polls are held in the state alongside Lok Sabha elections, it will help him revive his party's fortunes. Notably, the tenure of the state assembly comes to an end towards the end of 2025. In the 243-strong House, JD(U) has only 45 members.