Tej Pratap Yadav opposes RJD candidate in Sheohar Lok Sabha seat

PATNA: The cracks in RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s family widened further on Tuesday as his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav said he would oppose the party’s Sheohar nominee, Syed Faisal Ali, for his close links with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi of BJP. The Mahua MLA also said his younger sibling Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was not receiving his telephone calls.

Tej also iterated that he will field his associates Chandraprakash Yadav and Angesh Singh as independent candidates from Jehanabad and Sheohar respectively. RJD has already announced its candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats. Tej also said he will not campaign for his estranged father-in-law Chandrika Rai.

“Chandraprakash and Angesh will file their nomination papers from Jehanabad and Sheohar respectively. I will participate in their campaign as well. It is not against the party. I also want good for the party,” Tej told reporters at his residence here.

“I had demanded two seats for my candidates. But the RJD candidate for Sheohar is seen in a photograph with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi of BJP. People of Sheohar are also opposing Faisal’s candidature,” he said and added that the decision was certainly not taken by Tejashwi, but by his sycophants.

“We are talking about wiping out communal forces and removing Narendra Modi from the Centre and still such people are being given ticket by our party. The decision needs to be reconsidered. People who give their blood for the party should be given priority,” he added.

“I have been protesting against outsiders trying to manipulate the family and influence the party’s decisions. My job is to take the party to new heights,” Tej claimed.

Tej floated his own ‘Lalu-Rabri Morcha’ on April 1 after his demand for Jehanabad and Sheohar seats was ignored by Tejashwi.

On being asked about his estranged father-in-law contesting from Saran, Tej said: “I am not going to campaign for him (Chandrika). I am not bothered whether he wins or loses. And Tejashwi should see that Saran is our family seat and how well it is represented.”

When asked about talks with his mother and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi, Tej said: “We had talked around a week ago, but no fresh talks have been held thereafter.”

Tej also made a late night cryptic tweet on Monday, which roughly translated as: “The war of Mahabharata was fought between Kauravas and Pandavas, in which crores of warriors from both sides were killed. No war of such magnitude was held before that, nor it will happen again. #Mahabharat2019.”

When asked about the tweet, Tej said: “The context, especially of Duryodhan, was for the sycophants around Tejashwi and those who created confusion in seat-sharing arrangements in the Mahagathbandhan for vested interests. I have problem with such people. Tejashwi is my brother, like a piece of my heart.”

To a question whether he was sidelined in RJD, Tej said: “Because they have understood that I am the real Krishna. I have the opponents in my clutches.”

Later, Tej left for Maner in rural Patna to canvass for his eldest sister Misa Bharati, who is the RJD nominee from Pataliputra seat.