Tejaswi RJD face in next poll: Lalu

Jitendra K Shrivastava

Tribune News Service

Patna, November 10 

RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s younger son Tejaswi Prasad Yadav is likely to be the party’s face for next Bihar Assembly polls as his father on Friday insinuated it saying the party would contest next elections under Tejaswi’s leadership.

“Tejaswi is way ahead of all of us as far as leadership dexterity and adroitness, communication skill and oratory are concerned. I don’t say as such merely because he is my son,” Lalu said after RJD state chief Ram Chandra Purve announced that the party would contest next polls under Tejaswi’s leadership.

RJD vice-president and former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh differed. Chief ministerial candidate is to be made in the people’s court after the election. “Freedom of speech is the right of a person in party and anyone can give his opinion but the final decision is unanimously taken,” he said.

In Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance (RJD, Congress and JD-U) government, Tejaswi was the deputy chief minister. After the JD-U broke away to join hands with the BJP, the RJD held ‘BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao’ rally and strived hard to establish Lalu’s sons Tejaswi and Tej Pratap Yadav as mature leaders.

JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said: “Whatever decision Laluji takes becomes the verdict for the party. If he decides to make Tejaswi as the chief ministerial candidate, no leader of the party will go against it.”