Tejashwi Yadav to take oath as Deputy CM of Bihar today. Here’s all about the cricketer turned politician

Bihar political crisis: Politics was never the first choice of Tejashwi’s career. After dropping out of Class 10, he started his career as a cricketer.
Tejashwi

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav

Photo : IANS
Patna: Nitish Kumar will take oath as the chief minister of Bihar for the eighth time today. He officially snapped ties with the BJP and joined hands once again with the Mahagathbandhan (RJD, Congress, and Left) Tuesday. Besides Kumar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is expected to take oath too, as the deputy chief minister, in a ceremony scheduled at 2 pm at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.
Here’s all about RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav
  • Born on November 9, 1989, in Bihar’s Gopalganj, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is the son of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi. Lalu and Rabri, both, were members of the Bihar Legislative Assembly and later became the Chief Ministers of Bihar. He is the youngest of the nine children of Lalu and Rabri.
  • Politics was never the first choice of Tejashwi’s career. After dropping out of Class 10, he started his career as a cricketer. He was studying at Delhi Public School, R K Puram, in Delhi.
  • Tejashwi, a middle-order batsman with good cover drive, he was graduated to Delhi’s under-17 and later under-19 cricket team at the same time when Virat Kohli was playing. Tejashwi was also selected in the list of standby players for the world cup winning U-19 Indian national cricket team, later in the same year.
  • He also played a season for Jharkhand during a Ranji Trophy tournament in 2009. Tejashwi was picked by the Delhi Daredevils for the 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL). He remained on the reserve bench of the team for the entire seasons between 2008 and 2012. However, in 2012, he gave up on cricket and decided to focus full-time on politics.
  • Lalu Prasad picked Tejashwi over his elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav, to be his political heir. Tejashwi’s first public address was in 2010 when he campaigned with his father for the Assembly elections. He was credited with success for modernizing campaigning strategies and expanding digital outreach for the party. The RJD then won only 22 seats in the 243-member Assembly.
  • In the 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, Yadav stood as the candidate of the Mahagathbandan (Grand Alliance) from both the Raghopur and was elected as the representative of the constituency. The alliance received an overwhelming majority in the assembly which led to Yadav being appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. He was given the portfolios of public works, forestry, and environment in the 5th Nitish Kumar cabinet.
  • In 2017, a CBI case was registered against Tejashwi on the State government’s consent for a ‘land for hotel” scam. Tejashwi accused the BJP of abusing government machinery to carry out political schemes. The Mahagatbandhan collapsed in July 2017 when Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA. In 2018, he was granted relief in the case by the Delhi High Court after he maintained that he could not have played a role as the allegation was levelled against him at a time when he was only 14 years old.
  • By March 2018, Yadav had become the de facto leader of the RJD. Upon appointment, he issued an official apology addressing the people of Bihar for "lapses and mistakes" that may have been committed by the party during its tenure in the state government and that he was unaware of them being too young at the time. Tejashwi played a significant role in the relief work and organizing of food supplies in the 2019 Bihar Floods.
  • In the 2020 assembly election, Yadav led the RJD as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Mahagathbandhan. The alliance won 110 seats in total out of 243. With RJD winning 75 seats, the party continued to remain the single largest political party in Bihar. However, since the majority required was 122, the alliance was unable to form the government, and Yadav was elected as the Leader of the Opposition of Bihar.
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