‘Ups and downs are inevitable’: RJD’s first reaction to Bihar debacle

In its first reaction to the stunning defeat in the recent Bihar Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Saturday maintained that ups and downs are part of public service.

In a post on X, the party reaffirmed its commitment to the poor, saying it would continue to raise its voice for them.

“Public service is an unceasing process, an endless journey. Ups and downs are inevitable in it. No sorrow in defeat, no arrogance in victory. The Rashtriya Janata Dal is the party of the poor. It will continue to raise its voice among the poor," the RJD said, tagging both party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and senior leader Tejashwi Yadav.

The opposition INDIA bloc was reduced to 35 seats in the assembly polls, with the RJD’s seat tally slipping to 25 from 75. In the ruling bloc, the BJP won 89 seats, up from 74 in 2020, while Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal(U) tasted success in 85 constituencies, up from 43. 

Tejashwi, who was the chief ministerial candidate of the INDIA bloc, retained Bihar's Raghopur assembly seat, defeating BJP's Satish Kumar by 14,532 votes. The RJD leader has been holding the Raghopur seat for the last 10 years, and had defeated Kumar in the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections.

Unlike Congress, the RJD has not yet raised any allegation of malpractice in the election process. The grand old party, which managed to win only six out of the 61 seats it contested, claimed that the results reflect "vote chori on a gigantic scale" that was masterminded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the Election Commission.