As polling began for the first phase of the high-stakes Bihar Assembly elections on Thursday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav turned the spotlight on himself with a trademark political quip after casting his vote. Speaking to reporters, Lalu said, “Roti palat na chahiye, nahi toh jal jayega,” a metaphor that quickly became the talk of the day.
The comment, loosely translating to “the roti must be flipped, or it will burn,” was widely seen as a sharp dig at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has been at the helm of Bihar for nearly two decades. The remark encapsulated the RJD patriarch’s pitch for change, suggesting that Bihar’s political ‘roti’ had stayed too long on one side under Nitish’s rule.
Lalu and his other family members including his sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap, and daughter Misa Bharti, exercised their franchise early in the morning. Former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, wished good luck to both her sons, Tejashwi and Tej, even as the elder son has been estranged to the family and contesting on his own party symbol, Janshakti Janta Party.
Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD leader and the chief ministerial face of the INDIA alliance, has been at the forefront of the campaign, positioning himself as the youthful alternative to Nitish’s long incumbency. His elevation as the alliance’s face forced the BJP to re-strategise. Initially hesitant to project Nitish Kumar, the saffron party eventually settled on him as the NDA’s leading face - viewing his administrative experience as key to countering the Tejashwi factor.
Nitish Kumar has flipped sides for no less than six times since 2013 and has sworn in as chief minister for 9 times in a span of 2 decades owing to such switches but managed to stay the chief minister.
June 2013: Broke a 17-year alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over Narendra Modi being named the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.
February 2015: Allied with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress to form the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) to contest the state elections, after a brief period leading a minority government/resigning in 2014.
July 2017: Resigned as Chief Minister, ending the Mahagathbandhan over corruption charges against then-Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, and immediately returned to the NDA fold to form a new government with the BJP's support.
August 2022: Ended the alliance with the BJP again, accusing them of trying to split his Janata Dal (United) party, and rejoined the Mahagathbandhan with the RJD and Congress.
January 2024: Broke away from the Mahagathbandhan and the national-level INDIA bloc (which he helped form) to rejoin the BJP-led NDA coalition.
While he is regarded as the ‘Paltu Ram’ by opposition, Tejashwi has maintained the verbal decorum towards him, what analysts see as a strategy to keep doors open for the future, if need be to form the government
Meanwhile, the first phase of pollingis underway across 121 constituencies, with 3.75 crore voters deciding the fate of 1,313 candidates. According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout till 9 am stood at around 13 percent, with polling largely peaceful barring a few minor incidents of technical glitches and delays. The outcome of this round will set the tone for the remaining one phase, as both the NDA and INDIA alliance eye early momentum in what promises to be a tightly contested election. As Lalu’s “roti” analogy continues to trend across social media, it has not only reignited Bihar’s political humour for the day, more so since the senior Yadav had been largely away from media owing to failing health, and so has his humorous quips have been missing from the circle.
