Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad’s bid to launch his son as a party candidate has met with stiff protests from his own party men in Bihar, indicating it would not be an easy task for the wily politician to settle both his two unemployed children in politics at the cost of dedicated party workers.
It all happened after the RJD chief asked his eldest son Tej Pratap Yadav to address a party function organised at Mahua town in Vaishali district yesterday.
In his address, Yadav expressed his intention to contest the local Mahua assembly seat in the Bihar assembly claiming the local people too want to see him as a candidate.
Even while he was staking his claim over the Yadav-dominated seat, a local leader Jageshwar Rai climbed on to the dais and opposed his candidature saying he had been nursing this constituency for a long time, and hence held a genuine claim over the seat.
“Your father is the party supremo. He is free to give party ticket to anybody he wants,” Rai went on, much to RJD chief’s embarrassment.
The situation turned ugly when rival parties’ supporters began shouting slogans in support of respective leaders, forcing the RJD chief to intervene. It was after much effort that the angry members could be pacified and peace restored.
Although the meeting had been organised to seek people’s support to ensure victory of party candidate Subodh Rai from the local council seat, the RJD chief wanted to use this occasion for the quite launch of his son as a party candidate from this seat. By asking his son to speak and allowing him to express his political desire to jump into the fray, Prasad, probably wanted to test the mood of the general workers.
RJD insiders said Prasad is keen to launch his sons in politics now that he himself has been disqualified from contesting elections.
Reports said besides his eldest son, the RJD chief also wants to field his younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav from Raghopur seat as his wife Rabri Devi is reportedly not interested in contesting elections this time.
The Raghopur seat which also falls under the Vailshali district has been the trusted constituency of the RJD’s first family, but in the last election, Rabri Devi was defeated by a JD-U leader. Prasad wants to settle his second son in politics after the latter’s career in cricket flopped.
It may be noted, parliamentarian Pappu Yadav had been expelled from the RJD for six years after speaking out against the dynastic politics of Lalu. Yadav has now formed his own party, Jan Adhikar Party, to challenge the RJD in the upcoming elections.
