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Tej Pratap meets Tejashwi after controversy over Patliputra seat
Insiders say Lalu Prasad’s elder son was advised to toe party line on organisational matters
Days after his face-off with party’s Maner MLA Bhai Virendra over the Patliputra parliamentary seat, jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav met his younger brother Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Saturday night, saying he wants to see him as the next chief minister of Bihar.
During his interaction with media, Tej Pratap again referred to Tejashwi as “Arjuna”, who will be helped by “Krishna” in the upcoming Lok Sabha battle.
For a few months, Tej Pratap has maintained distance from his family over his plea to divorce wife Aishwariya Rai. Four days ago, he also met his mother Rabri Devi and claimed her support over divorce proceedings.
“We held only political discussions. Things like how to make our party stronger and take Lalu's dream forward. Tejashwi is my Arjuna and I will ensure that he occupies the throne,” Tej Pratap said with his younger brother standing by his side. Tej Pratap Yadav drove to Tejashwi’s bungalow at 5, Desh Ratna Marg.
However, sources claimed that the elder Yadav scion was ‘forced’ by party leaders, including Rabri Devi, to meet his younger brother to sort out differences on the Patliputra parliamentary seat .
They revealed that a section of leaders were not happy with Tej Pratap’s assertiveness in recent days and issue statements against senior leaders, especially in the context of candidates for the forthcoming polls.
Tej Pratap’s had earlier backed his elder sister Misa Bharti to contest the Patliputra parliamentary seat and snubbed Bhai Virendra for eyeing it. “ Who is Bhai Virendra? In RJD, everybody gets votes in Lalu’s name. Bhai Virendra should support Misa Bharti’s candidature,” Tej Pratap had said.
This had angered the Maner MLA because Tej Pratap’s support for his sister mirrored dynastic politics, a factor that led to the party’s debacle in the 2005 assembly polls and the subsequent polls, said sources.
Bhai Virendra, considered close to Lalu and Tejashwi, had even met Rabri Devi to express his anguish and was promised that the matter would be looked into. Later, Tejashwi said that the party’s “parliamentary board would decide the names of candidates” for the LS polls.
“Tej Pratap’s meeting with Tejashwi was a damage control move by the former. He met Tejashwi to make amends. Party leaders, including senior ones, have accepted Tejashwi as number 2 in the party, but are not ready to accept any interference from other children of Lalu,” said a senior party leader.
He said Tej Pratap was advised by his younger brother to refrain from making controversial statements and toe the party’s line on organisational matters related to seat adjustments.
Meanwhile, JD(U) state spokesperson Neeraj Kumar on Sunday took potshots at the RJD for ‘sidelining’ Tej Pratap. He said while Tej Pratap was forced into vanvaas ( exile), Tejashwi was given the ‘rajpath’ ( throne). “ Even Lalu’s elder daughter Misa Bharti is facing existential crisis, having difficulty in getting a ticket from the Patliputra seat,” Kumar said.
