Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav was named president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Saturday at a meeting of the party’s national executive committee in Patna, reported The Hindu.

Tejashwi Yadav, 34, will succeed his father, former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who founded the party in 1997. Tejashwi Yadav is also the leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly.

A resolution declared that the decision to promote Tejashwi Yadav was based on his increased stature within the party. The move comes ahead of the state’s next Assembly elections, expected by November.

Tejashwi Yadav and his father will be empowered to make decisions related to amendments to the party, poll tickets and the party’s election symbol, which is a lantern.

In January 2024, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ditched the Opposition INDIA bloc and crossed over to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. Kumar became the chief minister for the ninth time with the BJP’s support. This was the fourth time in 10 years that Kumar switched allegiance.

Tejashwi Yadav was the deputy chief minister when his party was part of the state government along with Kumar’s Janata Dal (United). The Rashtriya Janata Dal is part of the INDIA bloc at the national level.

Earlier this month, however, Tejashwi Yadav had said that the INDIA bloc was formed solely to counter the National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls. “The alliance had no significance beyond that,” he said.

His statement comes amid discussions within the alliance about its leadership and the role of the Congress.

Also read: How Tejashwi Yadav is expanding RJD’s appeal beyond its traditional caste base