RJD leader Tej Pratap at a ‘janta durbar’ in Patna. (Express Photo by Nagendra Kumar Singh)Having stayed away from politics for a couple of months after filing a petition in Patna family court for divorce, senior RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav’s sudden political activities, holding “janta durbar” and addressing people’s issues, seem to have made some senior leaders in the party uneasy.
Some RJD leaders, especially those owing allegiance to Leader of Opposition in state Assembly and Tej Pratap’s younger brother Tejashwi Yadav, avoid visiting the party office, on Patna’s Bir Chand Patel Path, when Tej Pratap is around.
On Monday, Tej Pratap held a ‘janta durbar’ in the RJD office and addressed people on their problems. He also said he is open to taking up “any important role given by the party”, which is seen as signs of political assertion. Party insiders said Tej Pratap became more politically active and started visiting the party office after returning from Ranchi, where he met his father, former Bihar chief minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad. Last week, he spent some time in a room in the party office used primarily when Lalu goes there.
Asked whether he is emulating his father by holding such ‘janta durbars’, Tej Pratap said, “I have to interact with the people to understand them. The janta durbar would be held regularly.”
Most people who visited the janta durbar Monday complained about the police not taking their complaint and registering cases, or regarding pending work with government officials.
Taking a dig at CM Nitish Kumar’s claim at delivering good governance, Tej Pratap tweeted, “Met the people and addressed their problems. People are suffering in Susashan-babu’s raj, but no one is ready to hear their problems. It is the duty of an elected representative to listen to people’s problems and redress them.”
Although Tej Pratap has stuck to his stand of projecting younger brother Tejashwi as the RJD candidate for Bihar chief minister, and maintains that he works as Krishna to Tejashwi’s Arjun, there has been growing discomfort in RJD ranks with “two power centres”. An RJD leader said, “Tej and Tejashwi are (both) important leaders, and Tej will surely look to play his role in the party.”
Dismissing any power tussle, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tewary said, “They are each playing his role. No one should try to read too much between the lines.”
