Rohini Acharya's 'Tejashwi Yadav + Prashant Kishor' Equation For Bihar

The election for the members of the Legislative Council in Bihar has opened up an interesting possibility. It has been voiced by Rohini Acharya - the daughter of Lalu Yadav.  

In a post on social media, Acharya has suggested that Tejashwi Yadav and Prashant Kishor should join hands to reduce the BJP to zero seats. 

"The MLC elections in Bihar have provided a formula to defeat the BJP/NDA in the state: TJ + PK = BJP/NDA ZERO. If the votes secured by the RJD and Jan Suraaj are combined, the BJP/NDA would lose all eight seats in the very first round of counting. PS: Just wait and see what happens next!!" read a rough translation of the post.

She followed it up with another tweet: "The BJP has always benefited from a fragmented opposition. If the opposition unites - armed with the right strategy and a strong grassroots base - and prevents the splitting of votes, defeating the BJP is entirely possible. A united opposition possesses much stronger social and political equations."

While Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party won one seat in the election and the Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal won two, their combined strength opens up a different possibility - one that is greatly to the Opposition's advantage.

Here is how the numbers stack up:

Saran Teachers' Constituency 

Independent candidate Rahul Raj emerged victorious here. The NDA candidate, Anand Pushkar, secured 2,440 first-preference votes. The RJD received 1,708 votes, and Jan Suraaj received 1,999 votes. Combined, the RJD-Jan Suraaj total 3,707-surpassing the NDA's tally.

Darbhanga Graduates' Constituency 

Anil Kumar Jha of the RJD won this seat. The NDA candidate, Sarvesh Kumar, secured 14,774 first-preference votes. Jha scooped up 13,483 votes, and Mohammad Imtiyaz Noorani (Jan Suraaj) received 9,230 votes. Together, they account for 22,713 votes-more than the NDA.

Kosi Graduates' Constituency

K Yadav of the BJP won this seat. The NDA candidate received 24,258 first-preference votes. Meanwhile, Nitesh Kumar Yadav of the RJD secured 18,918 votes, and Rajnish Ranjan of Jan Suraaj received 15,536 votes. Combined, they total 34,454 - again surpassing the NDA.

Patna Teachers' Constituency

Dr. Sanjeev of the RJD won from the Patna Teachers' constituency. The NDA candidate received 3,149 first-preference votes, while the RJD candidate received 3,143 and the Jan Suraaj candidate received 1,509. Together, they total 4,652 - more than the NDA.

Patna Graduates' Constituency 

Neeraj Kumar of the Janata Dal United won from the Patna Graduates' constituency. He secured 16,267 first-preference votes, while the RJD candidate received 14,125 and the Jan Suraaj candidate received 11,038. Combined, they total 25,163 - surpassing the NDA score.

Darbhanga Teachers' Constituency 

Suresh Prasad Rai of Jan Suraaj won from the Darbhanga Teachers' constituency. The NDA candidate received 812 votes, the Jan Suraaj candidate received 2,574, and the RJD candidate received 196. Combined, they total 2,700 - again exceeding the NDA. 

Tirhut Teachers' Constituency 

Narendra Prasad Singh of the BJP emerged victorious from the Tirhut Teachers' constituency. In this seat, the NDA candidate secured 1,872 first-preference votes, while the RJD-backed CPI candidate received 1,713 votes and the Jan Suraaj candidate received 1,335. Combined, the latter two garnered 3,048 votes - surpassing the tally of the NDA.

Tirhut Graduates' Constituency 

Independent candidate Banshidhar Brijwasi won this seat. Here, the NDA candidate received 19,913 first-preference votes, compared to 14,931 for the RJD candidate and 2,327 for the Jan Suraaj candidate. This is the only seat where the votes secured by the NDA exceed the combined total of the votes received by Jan Suraaj and the RJD.

Will such an equation actually materialize?

To determine whether such an alliance might truly take shape, NDTV spoke with leaders from both parties.

"The reality of Bihar politics is that if Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar join forces, the BJP is finished. Conversely, if the BJP and Nitish Kumar unite, the RJD is finished," said Jan Suraaj leader Kishor Kumar Munna. 

"In other words, when two parties align, the third is left with nothing. The data from the Legislative Council elections suggests that if Prashant (Kishor) and Tejashwi (Yadav) were to come together, the BJP would be wiped out."

While this statement does not rule out the possibility of an alliance, the party, for now, is going it alone. "We have reached this point after two years of struggle. Back then, we were dismissed as mere 'vote-splitters.' Now, we are receiving invitations. Just wait another two years; Jan Suraaj will emerge as the strongest alternative in Bihar," he said.