Lalu Prasad Yadav backs son Tejashwi after RJDs Bihar poll debacle

The RJD, which had emerged as the single largest party in Bihar in the 2025 and the 2020 assembly polls, won just 25 seats this time. Overall, the Mahagathbandhan, which consisted the Congress, Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and the Left parties, won 35 seats. 

In its Monday meeting, the RJD blamed the electronic voting machines (EVMs) for its loss and demanded that elections should be conducted using ballot papers. It also blamed Election Commission of India's (ECI) special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls for the poll loss.  

"This mandate has come from machinery management... 90 per cent strike rate is not possible for any political party in the world," RJD leader Shakti Singh Yadav said, as reported by news agency ANI. "In the review meeting, party chief, former CM Rabri Devi ji, senior leaders, including Jagadanand Singh and Uday Narayan Singh ji, expressed their views on the public mandate. It is clear that neither the public nor the political parties can digest the mandate that has been delivered. This mandate has come from machinery management."

Tejashwi elected as Bihar Assembly LoP

In another development, Tejashwi on Monday was elected as the Leader of Opposition in the 243-member Bihar Assembly. Tejashwi, who was Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial face, is also the LoP in the outgoing Bihar Assembly. A party needs at least 10 per cent of the total seats in an assembly to make its leader the LoP in the House.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept the 2025 Bihar elections, winning 202 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now the single largest party in the House with 89 MLAs, followed by the Janata Dal United (JDU) which has 85 legislators. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has 19 MLAs, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) has five, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) four.