Bihar 2025 Verdict: Fear of Lalu’s ‘Jungle Raj’ Still Shapes Voter Mood as NDA Wins and RJD Faces Major Setback
It appears that the people of Bihar are still afraid of Lalu Prasad Yadav's "jungle raj" even after RJD's term ended 20 years ago. This is clear from the party's massive defeat in the 2025 Bihar elections.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) November 14: Nearly twenty years have passed since Lalu Prasad Yadav's tenure in Bihar came to an end in 2005. Gen Z voters, among others, have never seen Lalu or his RJD in office. However, stories of kidnappings and unrest during his rule remain.
Tejashwi Yadav Struggles
Tejashwi, his son, appears to be bearing the brunt of the 'jungle raj' reputation against the RJD as the NDA is leading towards victory in the assembly elections. The 2025 Bihar elections did not include Lalu Prasad Yadav on the ballot. Under the leadership of his son Tejashwi Yadav, his party RJD recorded one of its worst performances. The party is leading in just 25 seats. Lalu’s health is unstable and his legal disputes are still ongoing.
Bihar's election narrative is still shaped by Lalu's tenure as chief minister in the 1990s. That era is still referred to by some opponents, particularly in the NDA, as "jungle raj". It was a time of lawlessness, gang war and administrative breakdown.
Shah Calls Victory a Rejection of ‘Jungle Raj’ Politics
Home Minister Amit Shah has declared that those who "practice jungle raj" will no longer have the chance to "loot" people. He calls the NDA's massive win a victory for every Bihari who believes in "Developed Bihar".
He posted, “No matter in what guise those who practice 'jungle raj' and appeasement politics appear, they will not get the opportunity to loot. The public now gives its mandate solely and exclusively on the basis of 'politics of performance'," on social media platform X.
The 1997 Jungle Raj Period
The term "jungle raj" entered Bihar's political language in 1997 after a Patna High Court judge made a comment during a hearing on a petition about the city's inadequate civic amenities.
The murder of about sixty Dalit people in Jehanabad in 1997 by an upper caste mob was one of the most terrible events that occurred under Lalu's rule. Since then his name has appeared in both the land-for-jobs scandal and the fodder scam trials. The term "jungle raj" has come to hit Lalu and his family on multiple occasions.
Grand Alliance Records Poor Performance
With 8.7 percent of the total vote, the Congress was leading in five seats. With 22.8 percent of the vote, RJD, the largest party in the Grand Alliance, has or was leading in 26 seats. In one seat, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation), or CPI(ML)(L), was in the lead. One seat was held by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M).
