india

Updated: Mar 28, 2019 20:27 IST

There was high drama in the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Thursday when RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s elder son and Mahua MLA Tej Pratap Yadav called a press conference in the afternoon at the state party office. The presser was eventually called off as he did not turn up to address media leaving the impression that ‘all is not well’ in the RJD family.

Barely two hours later, Tej Pratap surprised many in the party when he tweeted announcing his resignation as the RJD student wing convener. He was heading the student wing of the party for past several years and was the final authority in deciding the candidates for student union polls in Patna University.

In his tweet, Tej Pratap also sounded miffed at the party’s leadership, saying ‘Nadan hain woh jo log mujhe nadan samajhte hain. Kaun kitna paani mein hain, sabki hai khabar mujhe (Those who consider me naïve are naïve themselves. I know who has what standing in the party).”

The reason behind Lalu’s elder son’s sudden outburst and bid to run down his party’s top leadership is attributed to the Mahua MLA’s failure to get some tickets for his close aides as candidates from few seats as against official nominees of the RJD in the coming polls.

Leaders said Tej Pratap, who had filed for divorce from his wife Aishwariya Rai in November last year, has been putting pressure on the party’s top leadership, including younger brother Tejashwi Yadav, to accommodate two candidates — Angesh Kumar from Sheohar seat and Chandrapraksh Yadav from Jehanabad seat as against official RJD nominees, whose names are yet to be announced.

Today, Tej Pratap, presumably miffed by not getting a favorable response from party higher ups and brother Tejashwi about his chosen candidates, decided to call a presser and announce their candidature at 2.30 pm.

The party’s top brass, having got wind of Tej Pratap’s plans, went into damage control and asked the Mahua MLA not to attend the press conference, sources said. It is said Tej Pratap cancelled his decision to face the media at the last minute and decided to stay at his own official residence after being ‘admonished’ by mother Rabri Devi.

But, the entire event not only embarrassed the party but set tongues wagging in political circles. The elder Yadav scion continues to sulk at being ignored in party’s organisational matters. He is not happy with younger brother Tejashwi capturing the political space in the party as second-in-command after Lalu Prasad, indicating sibling rivalry between them.

On his part, Tej Pratap did not give any statement about his decision not to attend the presser but told a media channel that “he had asked Tejashwi and RJD chief Lalu Prasad to consider two names as candidates as they were youngsters.”

“I have been urging the party’s senior leaders, including Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi, to field young candidates as they would take the party forward. Yes, I want two persons of my choice as candidates and there is nothing wrong in it. It is not Tej Pratap or Misa or Tejashwi who form the party. Youths should get adequate representation in the party,” he said.

He laughed off the reports that he was planning to launch his own party, calling it “a total rubbish”.

Evidently, Tej Pratap having hogged limelight once again for wrong reasons continues to put his patty in discomfiture owing to his unpredictable ways. He appears to be not giving up on his claim for a meatier role in the party like his younger sibling.

Earlier, Tej Pratap had embarrassed his party by lashing out against party’s state president Ram Chandra Purbe for not appointing his close aides in key positions in the party. He also had a face-off with party’s Maner MLA Bhai Virendra for seeking a ticket from the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat.