Patna: Leadership battle in the RJD resurfaced after Lalu Yadav’s elder son Tej Pratap hinted that he is no longer in a mood to hand over the reins of the party to his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.
While addressing a rally in Jehanabad, he called h-imself “a second Lalu” and also attacked his you-nger brother Tejashwi Yadav, who has been spea-rheading RJD’s campaign in the absence of Lalu Yadav. He said, “Lalu Yadav is a role model and guru for many leaders. There are some leaders who fall sick by addressing two or four rallies but Lalu ji used to campaign continuously and attended 10 to 12 political meetings during elections without taking rest even during excessive heat.”
Party leaders said that Tejashwi had to cancel few of his public meetings citing ill health due to the heat wave in Bihar.
Tej Pratap was in Jehanabad to campaign in favour of his candidate Chandra Shekhar Yadav, where he gave the statement.
"The RJD candidate is weak because he has lost twice from this seat. Please vote for my candidate Chandra Prakash Yadav because he is capable of defeating the BJP in Jehanabad."
Senior RJD leader Surendra Yadav has been pitted against BJP candidate Chandeshwar Chandrawanshi from Jehanabad seat. The election in Jehanabad is in the seventh phase on May 19.
Political analysts claim that Tej Pratap fielding candidate against the RJD may upset the party’s caste calculations in Jehanabad. He had has also been campaigning against RJD’s Sheohar candidate Syed Faisal Ali.
Grand Alliance insiders said that reports of a rift in Lalu Yadav’s family have confused RJD workers.
Reacting sharply to Tej Pratap's statement, former Bihar chief minister and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi said, "People don't take Tej Pratap seriously but I feel that he has made a mistake by fielding a candidate against his own party."
Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses etc all. Happy reading.
