The Rashtriya Janata Dal (abbreviated asRJD; translation: National People's Party) is an Indian political party, based in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav.[5][6]
The party's support base has traditionally been Other Backward Classes, Dalits and Muslims and it is considered a political champion of the lower castes.[7] In 2008, RJD received the status of recognized national level party following its performance in north-eastern states.[8] RJD was derecognised as a national party on 30 July 2010.[9] Leading the Mahagathbandhan government with over 165 MLAs, it is currently the official opposition and single largest political party in Bihar. RJD is part of Ruling Government in Jharkhand and Kerala with its allies in Mahagathbandhan (Jharkhand) and LDF respectively.[10]
In the March 1998 national elections, RJD won 17 Lok Sabha seats from Bihar but failed to make significant headway in any other state. Later that year, the party formed an alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party as an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party secular coalition but the coalition failed in garnering any widespread support.
In UPA
In the October 1999 elections, RJD fought the election in alliance with Indian National Congress but lost 10 Lok Sabha seats including the seat of Lalu Prasad Yadav.
In the 2000 state elections, however, it performed well, winning a majority of the seats in the state assembly in Bihar. Continuing its upswing in electoral fortunes, the party won 24 Lok Sabha seats in the 2004 elections that it fought in alliance with Indian National Congress. It was a part of Indian National Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) from 2004 - May 2009, wherein Lalu Yadav held the position of the Minister of Railways.
In February 2005 Bihar Legislative Assembly election RJD won only 75 seats and lost the power. In the state elections held later that year – as a result of no party being able to form a government and RJD continued its downward slide winning only 54 seats.
The national executive members of the party Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, Misa Bharti, Prem Chandra Gupta, Manoj Jha, Abdul Bari Siddiqui and Ram Chandra Purve.[17]
In November 2015, RJD won the elections as party became the single largest party with 80 followed by Janata Dal (United) with 71 seats, BJP with 53 seats and Congress with 27 seats. In terms of vote share, BJP came first with 24.4%, followed by RJD with 18.4% and JD (U) with 16.8% and Congress got 6.7%. Janata Dal (United)'s Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister and Lalu's son Tejashwi Yadav became the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.
In July 2017, following the corruption cases against Tejashwi Yadav, Nitish Kumar asked Yadav to resign from the cabinet, which was refused by RJD. In order to protect his clean image towards corruption, Nitish Kumar resigned on 26 July 2017, ending RJD's stake in Bihar government. What followed next was a coalition BJP and JDU as a result Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister again whereas Sushil Modi, a prominent BJP leader became the Deputy Chief Minister.[20][21][22]
In January 2024, Nitish Kumar left the Mahagathbandhan once again and joined hands with the BJP. He later became the chief minister once again.
Controversies and Criticism
The Rashtriya Janata Dal has a history of involvement in caste-based politics, support for criminals, political corruption, along with creating a jungle raj in Bihar.
Mohammad Shahabuddin, a leader of RJD, has been involved in several criminal cases. Shahabuddin has been accused of several murders, be it of political rivals, or police officers. [29] Shahabuddin, through his lawyers, attempted to also intimidate the legal proceedings, which led to more criminal cases against him.[30]
During Lalu Prasad Yadav's tenure as Chief Minister, Bihar's law and order was at lowest,[31][32] kidnapping was on rise and private armies mushroomed.[33] He was also criticized by opposition in the Shilpi-Gautam Murder case and the death of his daughter Ragini Yadav's friend, Abhishek Mishra, in mysterious circumstances.[34][35]
An investigation in the land-for-jobs scam implicated Tejashwi Yadav and Rabri Devi, Lalu Prasad Yadav's son and wife, as well as in other corruption scandals.[36] Tejashwi Yadav allegedly threatened Central Bureau of Investigation agents who were investigating him in another corruption case.[37]
The Rashtriya Janata Dal has been allegedly found to have links with the Ranvir Sena, a militia functioning as a landlord group, which has frequently targeted lower caste communities. The Ranvir Sena has been accused of inciting riots and mass killings against Dalit community across the state.[38]
^"From Lula to Lalu". 9 April 2019. The legal cases against Lalu Prasad Yadav and Lula da Silva along with their subsequent incarceration are glaring examples of how the issue of corruption is often used as a weapon by the right against popular centre-left political formations.
