{"id":21425,"date":"2025-10-28T07:45:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T07:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/28\/karpoori-thakurs-legacy-turns-bihar-into-poll-battleground-as-parties-trade-jan-nayak-claims-elections-news\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T07:45:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T07:45:15","slug":"karpoori-thakurs-legacy-turns-bihar-into-poll-battleground-as-parties-trade-jan-nayak-claims-elections-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/28\/karpoori-thakurs-legacy-turns-bihar-into-poll-battleground-as-parties-trade-jan-nayak-claims-elections-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Karpoori Thakur’s Legacy Turns Bihar Into Poll Battleground As Parties Trade ‘Jan Nayak’ Claims | Elections News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The row was triggered after Congress called Rahul Gandhi the \u201cJan Nayak of Bihar\u201d, a move seen as an attempt to stir voter sentiment ahead of elections next month<\/h2>\n
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Karpoori Thakur, born in 1924, served as the chief minister of the state twice in the 1970s and is credited with introducing alcohol prohibition and championing social justice reforms. (Getty)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

The battle for the legacy of socialist icon Karpoori Thakur has escalated into a political free-for-all with less than 10 days to go before Bihar votes. The Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Samajwadi Party\u2014all members of the opposition INDIA bloc\u2014along with the BJP are trading claims over the revered title \u2018Jan Nayak\u2019 (people\u2019s leader), a name historically reserved for Thakur who was Bihar\u2019s first non-Congress chief minister.<\/p>\n

The row was triggered after Congress called Rahul Gandhi the \u201cJan Nayak of Bihar”, a move seen as an attempt to stir voter sentiment ahead of elections next month. The RJD followed suit by projecting Tejashwi Yadav under the same title, while the Samajwadi Party\u2019s Lucknow (Central) MLA Ravidas Mehrotra declared that \u201cAkhilesh Yadav is the \u2018Jan Nayak\u2019.”<\/p>\n

The branding, however, did not find unanimous acceptance even within the RJD as the party\u2019s national general secretary, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, said: \u201cIt will take him time to become a \u2018Jan Nayak\u2019,” referring to Tejashwi Yadav. While his restrained remark was meant to acknowledge Yadav\u2019s growing stature, it quickly gave the BJP an opening to strike.<\/p>\n

BJP spokesperson CR Keswan took to X to say: \u201cTejashwi Yadav\u2019s very own RJD leader categorically rejects & refuses to accept the term Jan Nayak being used for him.” He added: \u201cThis exposes the hollow, bankrupt politics of RJD-Congress. Tejashwi Yadav can be best labelled as Jungle Raj Nayak and Rahul Gandhi, Jalebi Nayak.”<\/p>\n

Other leaders also weighed in on the debate, with Hindustan Awam Morcha chief Jitan Ram Manjhi saying \u201cthe title is given by the people\u2026 it can\u2019t be self-assumed”, calling the RJD\u2019s attempt an \u201cinsult” to Karpoori Thakur\u2019s legacy. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan echoed the sentiment, saying: \u201cThere is only one \u2018Jan Nayak\u2019 in Bihar\u2014Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur ji.” Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, meanwhile, took a swipe at all sides, saying on X, \u201cThese days, some are busy declaring themselves \u2018Jan Nayak\u2019. It is shameful to appropriate such a title.”<\/p>\n

Thakur, born in 1924, served as the chief minister of the state twice in the 1970s and is credited with introducing alcohol prohibition and championing social justice reforms. His posthumous Bharat Ratna, announced in 2024, reignited cross-party claims to his political inheritance.<\/p>\n

With the election closing in, what began as a symbolic contest has turned into a test of authenticity. While opposition parties attempt to draw inspiration from Thakur\u2019s legacy, the BJP has framed their efforts as opportunism.<\/p>\n

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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n
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October 28, 2025, 12:59 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

News<\/a> elections<\/a> Karpoori Thakur’s Legacy Turns Bihar Into Poll Battleground As Parties Trade ‘Jan Nayak’ Claims<\/span><\/div>\n
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Last Updated:October 28, 2025, 12:59 IST The row was triggered after Congress called Rahul Gandhi the \u201cJan Nayak of Bihar\u201d, a move seen as an attempt to stir voter sentiment ahead of elections next month Karpoori Thakur, born in 1924, served as the chief minister of the state twice in the 1970s and is credited…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}