Ending speculation, RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Friday said his son Tejashwi Yadav will lead the party in the next Bihar Assembly polls.

He will also be the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s chief ministerial candidate. “RJD will contest the 2020 Assembly polls under Tejashwi’s leadership. He will be our chief ministerial candidate,” Lalu Prasad told the media here.

The former Bihar CM also praised his younger son’s work. “He (Tejashwi) is way ahead of all of us in terms of leadership ablity and oratory. I am not saying this merely because he is my son,” the RJD chief told reporters.

A former Deputy Chief Minister, Tejashwi Yadav, who turned 28 on November 9, is now Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly.

Dissent in party

He spoke after senior RJD leaders Abdul Bari Sidddiqui and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh reportedly said there was no clarity yet on the next chief ministerial candidate.

On Wednesday, RJD State President Raam Chander Purve had proposed Tejashwi Yadav’s name as the party’s CM face. Later, Siddiqui and Singh expressed their disagreement over Purve’s view.

“It is premature to think who the chief ministerial candidate will be when elections are far away. If Purve has said something, it is his personal opinion,” the RJD National Vice-President said.

“Our endeavour should be to work for the people of Bihar. They are our malik (master). It is the people who will put a stamp of approval on who should be the CM candidate,” Singh said.

Asked to comment on Singh’s reaction, Lalu Prasad sought to clear the air saying, “There is no mara mari (discord) within the party over the issue of Tejashwi.”

Dynastic rule, says BJP

Meanwhile, the BJP reacted to Lalu’s statement saying it was “an endorsement of dynasty rule which the people will not accept”.