When you type “Jan Nayak” into a search engine, one name instantly appears — Karpoori Thakur, the legendary socialist and former Chief Minister of Bihar. For decades, the title “Jan Nayak,” meaning People’s Leader, has been synonymous with Thakur’s legacy.
But now, that legacy is at the center of a political storm. The Congress party recently shared a picture of Rahul Gandhi with the caption “Jan Nayak,” sparking outrage from the BJP and dissent within the opposition alliance itself.
The BJP accused Congress of “stealing” the honor that rightly belongs to Karpoori Thakur. BJP spokesperson Ajay Alok lashed out, saying, “Both Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav are neither layak (worthy) nor Jan Nayak—they are nalayak (unworthy). Rahul Gandhi is the Jan Nayak of Naxals and anti-Indians.” Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad added that such titles are “earned through people’s work, not courtly flattery.”
The controversy didn’t stop there. Within the RJD, posters describing Tejashwi Yadav as “Bihar ka Nayak” (Hero of Bihar) also created unease. RJD veteran Abdul Bari Siddiqui said Tejashwi still has “a long way to go” before he can be called a people’s leader. Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi warned that applying the title to others would “demean the legacy” of Karpoori Thakur.
Interestingly, even Tejashwi’s brother Tej Pratap Yadav joined the critics, saying, “Tejashwi is not a Jan Nayak yet. His power doesn’t come from the people—it comes from our father. The day he truly becomes one, we’ll be the first to call him that.”
