Bihar: Rift in RJD resurfaces as Tejashwi Yadav skips party's Parliamentary Board meeting

The infighting within RJD came to the fore yet again on Tuesday after Bihar's Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav skipped a meeting of the party's central parliamentary board. While RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav didn't attend as he is undergoing treatment in Delhi, top leaders such as his wife Rabri Devi, son Tej Pratap Yadav and daughter Misa Bharti were present on the occasion. Intriguingly, Tejashwi's close confidante and Bihar RJD president Jagdanand Singh walked out of the meeting as soon as he saw Tej Pratap Yadav sit beside his mother.

As per sources, Rabri Devi expressed her angst over this incident during the course of the incident. Sources added that Singh left the room with two envelopes addressed to Lalu Yadav. Speculation that all is not well in RJD gained traction as a press release issued by the party later didn't have Singh's name. Speaking to the media, senior RJD leader and former Bihar Finance Minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui revealed that the party's apex body had authorised Lalu Yadav to select the candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections.

RJD's Abdul Bari Siddiqui said, "The Central Parliamentary Board meeting was conducted under the leadership of former CM Rabri Devi. The members of the Central Parliamentary Board were present. With consensus, a proposal was passed empowering our national president Lalu Prasad Yadav to select the candidates for the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council polls. The national president is considering who can or cannot be the candidate." 

Rift in RJD

Rumour mills went abuzz about the equation between ex-Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap after the former was missing in the posters of a key meeting of RJD's student wing on August 8, 2021. During this meeting, Tej Pratap referred to Jagdanand Singh, who was appointed as the state party chief in November 2019, as 'Hitler'. He said, "There is a huge difference between when I used to come to the party office earlier. The gate of the party office was always open when my father was here, but imposing their will after he was gone. The chair is not someone's legacy". 

The infighting intensified after Tej Pratap alleged that his close aide and RJD youth wing chief Akash Singh was sacked in an unconstitutional manner without giving any prior notice. Responding to this, the Bihar RJD president stated that the former doesn't hold any post in the party organization and thus, holds no importance. In turn, Tej Pratap demanded action against Jagdanand Singh barring that he would not participate in party activities.

The rift escalated as he formed his own student organization named 'Chhatra Janshakti Parishad'. On April 25 earlier this earlier, the Hasanpur MLA sent shockwaves across the state by revealing that he will hand over his resignation to his father. This announcement came hours after RJD youth wing's Patna chief Ramraj Yadav alleged that Tej Pratap Yadav's supporters had beaten and abused him inside Rabri Yadav's residence. Subsequently, Tejashwi Yadav indicated that action will be taken against his brother at an appropriate time.