Uma Bharti heaps praise on 'good boy' Tejashwi; makes sharp attack on Lalu's 'jungle raj'

A day after RJD faced a defeat in Bihar despite being the single largest party, he has received praise from a senior BJP leader. Uma Bharti has said that Tejashwi Yadav is a "very good boy" and he can rule when he grows older. Opining that he is too young to rule a state, Bharti said on Wednesday that Lalu Yadav would be at the helm of affairs and Tejashwi would simply be a de-facto ruler if he were to become the CM at this age.

It was projected in the Exit Polls that Tejashwi Yadav who was the CM face of Mahagathbandhan would be the next CM of the state, however, with 110 seats in total, his grand alliance fell short of majority compared to NDA's 125. However, he has been applauded for giving a tough fight to Nitish Kumar and sticking to issues in his election campaign. The 31-year old RJD leader has not spoken since the result of the elections.

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Uma Bharti's comment on Tejashwi

Umar Bharti said, "Tejashwi is a very good boy. But Bihar was saved by the skin of its teeth because he wouldn't have been able to run the state. Lalu Yadav would have ultimately been at the helm pushing Bihar back into jungle raj. Tejashwi can lead but after he grows older."

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Tejashwi wins from Raghopur 

Tejashwi Yadav won from Raghopur with a margin of 38174 votes against BJP's Satish Kumar.  As per census data, 1.30 lakh Yadavs form the bulk of the voters, the constituency has a significant presence of upper-caste Rajputs, whose electorate size is estimated at around 40,000 followed by Muslims at 22,000 and Paswans at 18,000. In 2015, then 25-year-old Tejashwi defeated BJP's Kumar when the BJP had gone solo. The Raghopur seat has been a Lalu Yadav bastion and he had won from the constituency in 1995, 2000, 2005. 

READ | NDA wins Bihar for Nitish Kumar; Tejashwi's RJD single largest; LJP dents JDU's number

Bihar Election Result 2020

The Bihar assembly elections results were declared around midnight on November 10-November 11, with the ruling coalition - NDA winning 125 in the 243-member assembly, against Mahagathbandhan's 110.  Even as the contest remained neck and neck throughout the day, RJD under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav, became the single largest party with 75 seats, followed by BJP's 74. While Chirag Paswan's LJP won one seat, it made a major dent in JDU's tally that has come down to 43 from 71 in 2015. The biggest clincher is Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM winning 5 seats and CPI-ML  winning 12 seats. The other two left parties - CPI and CPI-M won two each. The other two alliance partners of NDA - HAM and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) won four seats each.

READ | As NDA wins, posters in Patna says 'Bihar me Nitish ba', taking a swipe at Mahagathbandhan