Tej Pratap quits party post, says no rivalry with Tejashwi

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of party president Lalu Prasad Yaday, on Thursday resigned as the 'sanrakshak' (patron) of the party's students’ wing, signalling all was not well within the family.

'I am resigning from the post of Chhatra Rashtriya Janata Dal Sanrakshak. Those who think I am ignorant are ignorant themselves. I am well aware of who is worth what,' he tweeted.

The sudden development comes as a major embarrassment to the party which has been beset by speculations of fierce rivalry between Tej Pratap and his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.

The announcement also comes amid rumours that Tej Pratap would be causing a split in the party.

However, talking to a couple of regional news channels later, the RJD supremo's elder son denied speculations of him planning a drastic step on account of perceived rivalry with Tejashwi, who has been declared as the political heir apparent of Lalu.

Speaking at a news conference, Tej Pratap noted that he wanted to press for the candidature of his confidants Angesh Kumar and Chandra Prakash from Sheohar and Jehanabad, respectively.

"I would like my father, the national president, and Tejashwi who is managing the affairs of the party in his absence to give a thought to my proposal," he said.

The presser was, however, called off reportedly at the insistence of his mother Rabri Devi and father, who is in Ranchi serving sentences in the fodder scam.

RJD leaders were also tight-lipped about the entire episode.

The 'Mahagathbandhan' in Bihar, of which RJD is the largest constituent, is yet to take a call on which party would contest the aforementioned seats.

Tej Pratap is known to have thrown a fit on many occasions for being 'side-lined' in the party.

Notably, his Twitter announcement of resigning from the party's students’ wing came less than 24 hours after he put out another tweet congratulating Patna University student leader Gagan Yadav for being appointed the state president of Chhatra Janata Dal.

Said to be enjoying the support of eldest sister Misa Bharti, the RJD leader caused a flutter a few months ago when he pushed for her candidature from Pataliputra seat and went on to launch a campaign in her support.

The news did not go down well with party MLA and an aspirant for the seat Bhai Virendra, who was said to have the backing of Tejashwi Yadav.

Recently, Tejashwi too had indicated that he was not averse to Misa, a Rajya Sabha member, contesting the Lok Sabha polls.

When asked why was his sister's name missing from the party's list of star campaigners, he replied that 'didi' (elder sister) was likely to contest the polls.

"That is why she may not be burdened with campaigns in other parts of the state," Tejashwi said.

Speculations are rife that Tej Pratap's recent outburst may have stemmed from reports that Tejashwi was backing the candidature of MLA Chandrika Prasad Rai from Lalu Prasad's pocket borough Saran.

Tej Pratap had married Rai's daughter in May last, but sought to divorce her five months later, much to the chagrin of his family.