In a pivotal move, the RJD has scheduled a national executive gathering in Patna for January 25, as whispers of a leadership transition grow louder. With Lalu Prasad facing health and legal hurdles, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is anticipated to ascend as the national working president. This meeting will also focus on the party’s forthcoming strategies and key national political challenges.
“It has been proposed that since Lalu is unwell, preventing him from attending the party’s meetings, someone should be appointed as the party’s national working President.
There is almost a consensus on Tejashwi,” a senior RJD leader said, requesting anonymity. Tejashwi has unofficially led the organisation and acted as the party’s star campaigner in the 2020 assembly polls, 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and 2025 assembly elections.Lalu has served as the party’s president for over 28 years. In June last year, he was re-elected as national president, marking his 13th consecutive term at the helm since the formation of the RJD in July 1997.The Delhi court’s observations against Lalu and his family are also believed to have prompted the meeting. Sources clarified that the court had ordered only the framing of charges in the land-for-job scandal. “The court only observed that charges are serious, but they are still to be proved,” a party leader said.The national executive meeting is also expected to discuss the party’s future strategy, programmes to enhance public participation, and the wider political landscape from a national perspective. “It will also debate how constitutional organisations are facing an existential crisis and how India is facing isolation at the international level,” a senior leader added.
