Misa Bharti will contest from Patliputra: Tej Pratap Yadav

Patna: RJD chief Lalu Yadav’s elder son Tej Pratap on Thursday created a flutter in the grand alliance by declaring that his elder sister Misa Bharti would be contesting from Patliputra Lok Sabha constituency.

More than the political temperature it was a wave of shock and surprise for the entire Lalu clan when he publicly made the announcement while his party is yet to come out with an official announcement regarding seat allocations.

“It’s the people of Patliputra who want my elder sister Misa Bharti to contest from Patliputra constituency. I have decided to campaign for my sister and I am not bothered about others who have problems with my decision,” Tej Pratap Yadav said on the sidelines of Janata Darbar on Thursday in Patna.

Misa Bharti had contested from Patliputra Lok Sabha constituency in 2014 general elections but lost to Ram Kripal Yadav, who after leaving the RJD had joined the BJP.

RJD insiders said that the party was planning to field one of Tejashwi Yadav’s closest aides Bhai Virendra from Patliputra constituency. Bhai Virendra is RJD spokesperson and sitting MLA from Maner constituency.

“His announcement is likely to create rumbl-ings within the RJD as Tejashwi Yadav was keen on fielding Bhai Virendra from Patlip-utra constituency,” a senior grand alliance leader aware of the iss-ue told this newspaper.

Political analysts said that the statement is an indication that Tej Pratap is no longer in a mood to hand over the reins of the party to his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav and wants to be consulted by leaders during important party decisions including ticket distribution to candidates.

RJD insiders, however, downplayed the statement made by Tej Pratap and said that “Seat sharing issue will be resolved without any hassle after January 14 following auspicious Makar Sankranti”.

The dissent in the RJD has been brewing since Lalu Yadav handed over reins of the party to his younger son Tejashwi Yadav after he was convicted and jailed in the fodder scam.

While launching his Janata Darbar on December 24 Tej Pratap had said that he would not shy away from assuming the leadership of the party if given a chance. Sources said Tej Pratap Yadav wants to be consulted by party leaders while taking a decision on the issue seat distribution for 2019 general elections.