{"id":357186,"date":"2025-10-24T11:00:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T05:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=357186"},"modified":"2025-10-24T11:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T05:31:00","slug":"bihar-bjp-makes-jungle-raj-a-key-issue-to-counter-mahagathbandhan-will-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/bihar-bjp-makes-jungle-raj-a-key-issue-to-counter-mahagathbandhan-will-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Bihar\u2014BJP makes ‘Jungle Raj’ a key issue to counter Mahagathbandhan, will it work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The \u201cJungle Raj\u201d theme works as a defensive and emotional weapon, reminding voters why they once rejected the RJD. It can consolidate NDA\u2019s core vote and older demographics. But it won\u2019t automatically win new voters unless it\u2019s paired with a strong narrative on jobs, migration, and growth \u2014 issues that dominate Bihar\u2019s youth mindset today.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: courtesy PM social media<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the Mahagathbandhan making Tejashwi Yadav, son of former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, as its official face now, the BJP-JD(U) led ruling NDA has made the return of \u201cJungle Raj\u201d its central campaign issue, seeking to counter the opposition coalition led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will visit Bihar on October 24 to launch the NDA campaign with rallies in Samastipur and Begusarai, has already sharpened the attack on the RJD-Congress combine, framing the contest as one between \u201cVikas Raj\u201d and \u201cJungle Raj.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing young BJP workers via the NaMo App, Modi urged them to campaign jointly with NDA allies, declaring, \u201cRaftaar pakad chuka Bihar, phir se NDA sarkar.\u201d He said Bihar\u2019s growth under a stable government must not be derailed, contrasting it with the RJD\u2019s earlier rule marked by corruption and crime. \u201cBiharis will never forget the Jungle Raj era \u2014 the fear, the lawlessness, the misgovernance. We must ensure it never returns,\u201d Modi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PM also took a swipe at the opposition\u2019s INDIA bloc, calling it a \u201clathbandhan\u201d \u2014 a coalition of criminals \u2014 and accused its leaders of being out on bail and prioritizing self-interest over youth and development. Modi linked the opposition to Naxalism and Maoist extremism, urging party workers to expose their record while focusing on youth outreach. He directed workers to engage first-time voters, involve senior citizens in recounting their experiences of the \u201cJungle Raj,\u201d and campaign intensively over the next 20 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Party leaders including BJP national president J.P. Nadda and Bihar unit chief Dilip Jaiswal have echoed Modi\u2019s message, warning voters against \u201cJungle Raj 2.0.\u201d The party\u2019s communication strategy revolves around contrasting NDA\u2019s decade of governance with the RJD\u2019s past, presenting the election as a choice between progress and regression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BJP\u2019s campaign theme \u2014 \u201cJungle Raj vs. Vikas Raj\u201d \u2014 is expected to dominate the final leg of the election drive as Modi begins his Bihar tour on October 24. Bihar votes in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results to be declared on November 14. The \u201cJungle Raj\u201d theme works as a defensive and emotional weapon, reminding voters why they once rejected the RJD and Lalu Prasad Yadav. It can consolidate NDA\u2019s core vote and older demographics. But it won\u2019t automatically win new voters unless it\u2019s paired with a strong narrative on jobs, migration, and growth \u2014 issues that dominate Bihar\u2019s youth mindset today. In short, if the election becomes a referendum on the past, BJP gains. However, if it turns into a debate about the future, the opposition gains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The \u201cJungle Raj\u201d theme works as a defensive and emotional weapon, reminding voters why they once rejected the RJD. It can consolidate NDA\u2019s core vote and older demographics. But it won\u2019t automatically win new voters unless it\u2019s paired with a strong narrative on jobs, migration, and growth \u2014 issues that dominate Bihar\u2019s youth mindset today. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":357187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2915,1801],"tags":[17301,16188,17074,18688,17006,16715,18067,16687],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":357188,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357186\/revisions\/357188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/357187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}