Tej Pratap meets Lalu; calls Raghuvansh Prasad his 'chacha' after father's scolding

As the poll season in Bihar is set to arrive in the midst of floods and COVID-19 pandemic, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's son Tej Pratap Yadav on Thursday visited his jailed father. Sources say after a reprimand from his father, Tej Pratap retracted from his comments against senior party leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh. Moreover, he described Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who was one of the key confidants of Lalu in the wee days of RJD, as 'chacha' against whom he bore no ill-feeling.

Tej Pratap Yadav went to visit his father in the director's bungalow of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), where the RJD chief was shifted recently as a precautionary measure for Covid-19. Tej Pratap also underwent a Covid test before visiting the former chief minister of Bihar. In a sharp u-turn, Lalu's elder son has now told reporters that Singh was a "chacha" to him to whom he talks regularly. If sources are to be believed, Lalu Prasad Yadav has asked the former Health Minister of the state to refrain from making such statements during election time. RJD has recently suffered a major blow after Lalu's long time friend and samdhi (Tej Pratap's father-in-law) Chandrika Rai along with 5 others quit the party, and after the jibe by Tej Pratap, speculations began that Singh might also quit. 

READ | Bihar polls: 3 RJD MLAs including Tej Pratap's father-in-law Chandrika Rai join JD(U)

Tej Pratap Yadav had earlier made castigating remarks against the former union minister Singh, over his resignation from RJD's vice president post. Singh had tendered his resignation in protest against efforts to induct muscleman former LJP MP Rama Singh into the party. Tej Pratap Yadav had said: "RJD is an ocean and Singh is like a mug of water of it whose coming/going will have no impact on the party."

RJD will contest the assembly polls in Bihar, after it drew blank in the Lok Sabha polls. It is also significant because this is the first assembly elections in Bihar which will not witness quintessential Lalu style of campaigning and his crowd-puller jibes. Along with the dominance of BJP- JDU alliance and Jitan Ram Mamjhi's exit from Mahagathbandhan, RJD also faces trouble at home with sources hinting that Tej Pratap Yadav's estranged wife Aishwarya Rai (daughter of Chandrika Rai) might enter the poll fray. 

READ | Bihar polls: HAM president Jitin Ram Manjhi meets CM Nitish Kumar, hints at coalition

6 RJD MLAs join JD(U) 

Last week, senior RJD MLA Chandrika Rai along with two MLAs Faraz Fatmi and Jaiwardhan Yadav joined the ruling Nitish Kumar-led JD(U). RJD had expelled Fatmi who is the son of Mohammad Ali Ashraf Fatmi, a former Union minister who had quit the RJD ahead of the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 after being denied a ticket and is now currently in JD(U). Previously, three RJD MLAs - Maheshwar Prasad Yadav, Prema Choudhary and Ashok Kumar Kushwaha joined JD(U).  

On the other hand, the JD(U) expelled Bihar Industries Minister Shyam Rajak and sacked him from his ministerial post. Rajak who is unhappy with Ashok Choudhary's entry into JDU, promptly joined RJD in the presence of Tejashwi Yadav. 

READ | EC releases guidelines for voting, campaign, postal ballots and counting votes amid COVID

Bihar assembly elections 

Bihar will go to polls amid COVID-19 pandemic, with the EC releasing guidelines for conducting polls. As BJP lost in Delhi, all eyes are set on former party chief Amit Shah and Nitish Kumar -led JDU. While Kumar faces strong anti-incumbency, RJD - Bihar's main opposition has lost the luster it once had due to the absence of it's chief Lalu Prasad Yadav - with his son Tejashwi, most likely to be named as CM hopeful.  Currently, the JDU-BJP combination rules the state with 131 seats, while RJD-Congress opposition has 111 seats.

READ |Tej Pratap downplays father-in-law Chandrika Rai's exit from RJD: 'JDU won't gain a thing'

(PTI image)