Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: Revisiting the Shadows of Jungle Raj Amid Political Clamour

Paromita Das
New Delhi, 28th June:  As Bihar gears up for another round of assembly elections this year, the air once again resonates with passionate debates, political interviews, and the fervor of contesting ideologies. In a state where every electoral contest is not just a battle for power but a referendum on memory, history, and hope, the stakes remain high. Among the leading voices dominating this season is Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the opposition and the face of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). His recent 57-minute interview with ANI reignited a firestorm of political discourse—targeting the ruling BJP-led NDA alliance, accusing the media, and vehemently refuting the term “Jungle Raj” that has been historically tied to his party.

But Bihar, with its long memory and turbulent political past, is not so easily swayed by spirited interviews or rhetorical flourishes. It remembers too much.

The Interview That Stirred the Pot

Tejashwi Yadav’s interview was an orchestrated attempt to reclaim narrative control. With confidence and conviction, he alleged that the 2020 assembly elections were manipulated to secure the RJD’s defeat, and expressed unshakable optimism about his party’s prospects this time. The charges he leveled against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the NDA were not new. However, his criticism took on a sharper edge as he directed his ire toward the media, accusing it of playing the lapdog to the saffron party’s propaganda machinery.

In his view, the media has conveniently turned a blind eye to the current crimes under the NDA regime, while historically exaggerating any lapse during the RJD’s rule. This accusation is not unfamiliar; many opposition figures in Bharat have, over the last decade, positioned themselves as victims of a compromised media.

Media as the Scapegoat?

What stood out in the interview was Tejashwi’s effort to portray the media as a central villain—one that had the power to distort perceptions, rewrite history, and shield the powerful. He mockingly claimed that under his leadership, even a cockroach’s death would grab headlines, whereas today’s murders escape scrutiny.

This narrative, while theatrically compelling, falters when weighed against the collective memory of Bihar’s people. For them, the term “Jungle Raj” is not just media hyperbole. It encapsulates an era marked by fear, lawlessness, and impunity. It’s not the media that coined this phrase—it was the lived experience of millions.

Revisiting the Reality of Jungle Raj

Between 1990 and 2005, when Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi held sway over Bihar, the state descended into a dark chapter. Caste massacres, kidnappings for ransom, unchecked gangsterism, and the state’s indifference to education and healthcare painted a grim picture. This was not mere perception. These were years when businessmen fled the state, bureaucrats lived in fear, and ordinary people lost faith in law enforcement.

From the acid attacks in Siwan to the abduction of Dalit girls and the sexual exploitation of civil servants’ families, the list of heinous crimes is tragically long. Yet, Tejashwi Yadav dismisses these events as statistical aberrations and blames the media for keeping their memory alive.

Statistics Don’t Tell the Whole Story

There is some truth in Tejashwi’s argument that statistics today might be higher because more people report crimes. The proliferation of social media, increased awareness, and a somewhat responsive police system have made crime data more transparent. But this transparency is precisely what was lacking during the RJD’s rule.

Numbers alone cannot capture the terror of an era. They don’t narrate the fear that gripped entire communities, the normalization of kidnapping, or the nexus between criminals and politicians. The brutality of Chanda Babu’s sons being murdered or the caste-driven violence of the Bathe massacre is reduced to digits on a sheet. But for Bihar’s people, those were life-altering tragedies.

A Case of Selective Amnesia

What Tejashwi Yadav attempts today is a rewriting of memory. By weaponizing statistics and media criticism, he seeks to absolve his party of its past. But the wounds of “Jungle Raj” are not shallow. They are etched deep into the psyche of Bihar.

Yes, Nitish Kumar’s initial crackdown on crime brought relief. And yes, his later terms were marred by political compromises and administrative decay. But the comparison with RJD’s era is not merely numerical. It’s about the culture of governance, the rule of law, and the dignity of ordinary citizens.

Tejashwi’s attempt to deflect and diminish this reality is not just disingenuous—it’s dangerous. It suggests that public memory can be manipulated, and history can be laundered through rhetoric.

Bihar Deserves Better

As the election drums grow louder, every party will claim to be the savior. Every leader will promise prosperity and peace. But Bihar has been through too much to be easily swayed. Its people are not just voters—they are survivors of past betrayals and silent witnesses to lost decades.

Tejashwi Yadav may find temporary traction through media battles and revisionist narratives. But until he and his party come to terms with the truth of their past, they cannot convincingly offer a better future.

Bihar does not need a new spin on old shadows. It needs leaders who own up to history and work toward a future where phrases like “Jungle Raj” become truly obsolete—not by denial, but by transformation.