Tejashwi Yadav said that choosing a PM face was a secondary priority, behind "saving the constitution"
Highlights
- Tejashwi Yadav says recent poll results show opposition unity is working
- Asked if all parties will accept Rahul Gandhi as prospective PM
- Says single-largest party should stake claim to PM's post for 2019 polls
Tejashwi Yadav, the son of Bihar leader Lalu Yadav, today said he was working with Rahul Gandhi to "save democracy and the constitution". The 28-year-old, seen as the political heir of Bihar veteran Lalu Yadav, is known to share a rapport with the Congress chief. Today, on the question of the Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate of the united opposition, Tejashwi Yadav gave a cautious response that took nothing for granted.
Tejashwi Yadav, who is seen as rooting for a united opposition, said he was happy that the opposition parties have realised that they have to remain united. "You can see the results after that," the young leader told NDTV in an exclusive interview, referring to string of opposition victories in the recent by-elections - starting with prestigious Gorakhpur and Phulpur and then onto Kairana and Noorpur.
He has even said his party's victory in the recent by-election in Bihar's Jokihat was a spin-off of the alliance between Akhilesh Yadav and Dalit powerhouse Mayawati.
Asked if Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav will accept Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister, Tejashwi Yadav said, "Rahul Gandhi has said that if the Congress becomes the single largest party, Congress will stake claim".
But there was a rider. "I think whichever political party becomes the single largest, it will stake claim to the PM post. If you look at the opposition, a lot of people are capable of becoming PM," he said, adding, as of now, no one has officially staked claim.
Calling the matter a "secondary question", he said right now, it was "more important to save the constitution".
Last week, Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi had
a 40-minute meeting in Delhi. Sources said they discussed the political situation in the country and in Bihar.
After the meeting, Tejashwi Yadav tweeted a photo of them together, quoting a couple of lines from British poet William's Wordsworth. The poem is titled "The French Revolution as It Appeared to Enthusiasts at Its Commencement".