Tejashwi Yadav is the younger son of Lalu Yadav. (File)
Highlights
- Tej Pratap Yadav says sister Misa Bharti will fight national elections
- He proposes her candidature from Pataliputra constituency in Patna
- The final call rests with Lalu Yadav, RJD sources said
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav appears to be running out of patience for his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav's increasingly assertive presence.
On Thursday, the elder son of jailed Bihar politician Lalu Yadav announced that his sister Misa Bharti would contest this year's general elections from the Pataliputra constituency in Patna.
Though Tejashwi Yadav did not take his elder brother's name when responding to a question about the announcement, the reference was not lost when he said today: "If you decide everything on camera, what will the party's parliamentary board and Lalu ji do?"
Misa Bharti is currently a Rajya Sabha member from the Pataliputra constituency. She contested the 2014 polls from there and lost to Ram Kripal Yadav of the BJP.
Though Tejashwi Yadav does not want Misa Bharti to contest the polls and is believed to favour party spokesperson Bhai Virendra's candidature from the constituency, the final call rests with Lalu Yadav, party sources said.
Tej Pratap Yadav claimed sister Misa Bharti would contest the 2019 elections from the Pataliputra constituency in Patna.
On Friday, Tejashwi Yadav, who was picked by Lalu Yadav as his political heir, said with no seat-sharing deal yet among the members of the "Grand Alliance" in Bihar, the question of picking candidates for constituencies did not arise.
He went to say that all candidates of the Rashtriya Janata Dal will be finally be picked by Lalu Yadav.
Tejashwi Yadav's statement is seen as a snub to Tej Pratap who party leaders feel has become a huge source of embarrassment for the party with his out of turn statements.
Last month, Tej Pratap Yadav dropped a big hint of his growing rift with brother Tejashwi, when during an interaction with the media, asked whether he was ready to take over the reins of the RJD, Tej Pratap responded "Why not".
Tej Pratap, perceived as less politically savvy of the two brothers, has been trying to carve a bigger space in the party since he announced he wanted a divorce from his wife Aishwarya Rai.