Sidelined by his family, angry Tej Pratap Yadav could cost RJD in elections

“Say whatever you want, it doesn’t affect me. You are doing this to boost your TRP,” a visibly upset Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav told mediapersons in Patna on Friday on the questions over the reported rift between him and his elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav.

Tej Pratap, former health minister of Bihar, had resigned as patron of Chhatra RJD (the students’ wing of the RJD) on Thursday after the party refused tickets to candidates of his choice. “Naadan hain woh joh mujhe naadan samajhte hain (Those who think I am naïve are mistaken),” he tweeted.

The situation worsened after Tejashwi’s press conference to announce the names of Mahagathbandhan candidates in Bihar for the Lok Sabha election. The announcement of former minister Chandrika Rai’s candidature from Saran on Friday reportedly infuriated Tej Pratap. Rai is the estranged father-in-law of Tej Pratap, who has filed a plea for divorce from his wife, Aishwarya Rai. 

As soon Rai’s candidature was announced, rumours were rife that Tej Pratap has threatened to contest from Saran as an Independent. RJD leaders were aghast.

Tej Pratap, however, denied these rumours hours later. “I am not bothered about who is contesting from where,” he told reporters.
 

It’s the latest of the skirmishes between the two sons of the jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad. “Things have not been exactly normal between the brothers in the last few months. Tejashwi emerged as the natural successor to Prasad in the party, whereas his elder brother feels that he is being ignored by the RJD’s rank and file,” told a party insider.

Prasad launched both of them in politics in 2013 with the Parivartan Rally. The father, however, always sided with Tejashwi, while former Chief Minister and their mother Rabri Devi backed Tej Pratap. Both of them contested the high-pitched 2015 Bihar Assembly election and emerged victorious. However, their paths diverged soon after as Prasad chose Tejashwi as his heir apparent and installed him as deputy chief minister under Nitish Kumar. Tej Pratap was given the charge of the Health Department.

Party leaders say Tej Pratap feels rejected by his own. “He feels that despite being the first son of Lalu-Rabri, he was forced to play second fiddle. He has complained, more than once, that party leaders look past him or don’t ask for his opinion on crucial matters,” said a party MP.

To assert himself in the party, Tej Pratap adopted Prasad’s language and pithy one-liners. However, this made Tejashwi even more popular within the party rank. “The Yadavs and other backward castes have become refined over the years. They want someone urbane and politically refined to put forward their points. Tej Pratap’s rustic behaviour… didn’t go well with the youth,” said a party MLA.

The first family of the RJD reportedly wanted to smoothen the rough edges of Tej Pratap by marrying him with Aishwarya, a well-educated woman.

“It was a mismatch from the beginning. On one hand, Tej Pratap was a college dropout — he flunked his BA first year’s exam — and had a rustic style. Meanwhile, Aishwarya — an MBA from a private university in Noida — came from an educated, respected and wealthy family. Her grandfather, the late Daroga Rai, was a prominent Congress leader and former chief minister,” said a close aide of Prasad. In less than six months, the marriage crumbled as Tej Pratap filed for divorce, citing irrevocable differences. The relationship between Tej Pratap and his family turned sour after that as he moved out of Rabri Devi’s government bungalow. He started public courts in the party office. He even condemned the Bihar unit chief of the RJD, Ram Chandra Purbey, for creating a rift between him and his family. 

Senior party leaders say that Tej Pratap’s defiance may cost the party in the coming days. “It’s a difficult situation for the family and the party. His divorce was going to cost us big if Tejashwi and Rabri had not intervened in time. They ensured that the family appeared on Aishwarya’s side. Chandrika Rai was given the ticket from Saran — the RJD’s pocket borough — just to douse the fire started by Tej Pratap,” said a former aide of Prasad. “Tej Pratap doesn’t have votes on his own. But should he want, he can always rock the RJD’s boat because of his antics.”