‘Why can’t Rahul be PM if Cong wins?’
KEY FACTORS The RJD leader opens up about the Third Front, the leadership issue ahead of 2019 elections and the importance of the Congress in a grand Opposition alliance
NEWDELHI: Tejashwi Yadav, 28, has been leading the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) with reasonable success in the absence of his father Lalu Yadav, who is in prison. The party’s victory in the recent Jokihat assembly bypoll, coming not long after a win in the Araria Lok Sabha by-election, has enhanced Tejashwi’s stock as a challenger to the Nitish Kumar-bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Bihar and a key player in any potential Opposition alliance for the 2019 general elections. Tejashwi spoke to and
Saubhadra Chatterji Kumar Uttam.
excerpts: Edited in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, we made the alliance in Bihar. If Mayawati and Akhilesh had formed an alliance and the Opposition had a pact in Jharkhand, the BJP would not have come to power in these states. But the Opposition parties committed an error and it helped the BJP. There might be negotiations for seat sharing in Lok Sabha polls. But till now, things are going smoothly and parties are respecting each other, making compromises where necessary. The way the SP (Samajwadi Party), BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party), Congress and RLD (Rashtriya Lok Dal) fought Kairana was a good sign.
There are major grievances among the farmers, workers and young people. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi spoke about job creation, pitched demonetisation as a gamechanger, launched the GST (goods and services tax) as if it would achieve everything. He promised a lot but failed to fulfil even 1% of it. Now people are seeking answers.
This Opposition unity is very important. People are now realising the reality and the design of the BJP. If we will continue like this and judge our strength on winnability, then it will be difficult for the BJP. The BJP, too, is dependent on allies in many states. Look at the North-east. The BJP formed a government (in Meghalaya) after getting just two seats. And still they claim it’s a victory for Narendra Modi.
This politics of the BJP won’t go on forever. In UP, Bihar and West Bengal, the BJP collectively holds 116 seats. But there are clear signs that in UP their fortune is going down. They even lost the Gorakhpur bypoll.
In 2014, the BJP had majority on its own in Lok Sabha. Now the government is dependent on allies. The allies are disgruntled. The Shiv Sena has made it clear that it wants to fight elec- tions alone. Chandrababdu Naidu has left the coalition.
In Bihar, Jitan Ram Manjhi has also come out of the NDA. Look at the recent statements of (the Lok Jan Shakti Party’s) Ram Vilas Paswan (an ally of the BJP).
The ideologies of these parties don’t match with the BJP’S. It’s a marriage of convenience. Both Nitish and the BJP have no ideology. The BJP wants to impose the law of Nagpur. But if you see the pact between Opposition parties, you will find ideological similarities. They are bound by secularism and socialism. We believe in the Constitution, Ambedkar and (Mahatma) Gandhi. I agree with this. But remember in those alliances, the Congress was not present. When the Congress came in the alliance, it gave us UPA 1 and UPA 2. The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) ran for a full 10 years. The Congress is the biggest Opposition party. It is the responsibility of the Congress to take others along with them. Now, for the sake of the country, we have to discard our egos. Wherever the Congress is powerful, we have to strengthen it. In 18 states, the Congress is in a direct fight with the BJP. The main role has to be played by the Congress. His logic is not wrong. Whoever is the largest party — like the BJP in 2014 — has claimed the Prime Minister’s post. If any other party emerges as the largest, it too, can claim it. Where is the problem in making such a claim? In this democracy every- one has the right to express his or her mind. But more importantly, we have to see whether they go for a pre-poll or postpoll alliance. We need better understanding too.
In Karnataka, if the Congress and JD(S) (Janata Dal Secular) had entered into a pre-poll alliance, they could have easily formed the government. As far as we are concerned, our influence is in 2-3 states. In our limited capacity, we will strive for unity among Opposition parties. And if the people of this country have made up their mind to make Rahul the PM, no one can stop him. Rahul Gandhi is capable. He or even Sonia ma’am could have been the PM much earlier. He wanted to gain experience. But the way he is interacting with smaller parties, there is a big difference between what Rahul was then and (what he is) now. He faces tough questions, unlike Modi who never gives answers. In Gujarat, Rahul gave the BJP a run for its money. Now, wherever Rahul goes, Modi and Amit Shah are forced to enhance their campaign. Why is Modi so scared of Rahul Gandhi? I hope all parties reach an agreement. Every party needs to be respected and given its due share in seat adjustments. But so far, no one has officially claimed to be the leader. Has Mamata Banerjee publicly said she wants to be the leader? Have Chandrababu or Mayawati said so? Some media people asked me if I am also in the race (laughs). Just for the sake of it, you can name anyone as the leader. I think the leadership issue will be decided after the polls. And if there is a post-poll alliance, then there will be no problem over the leadership issue. It will happen. People are unhappy with the Modi government’s policies like demonetisation or selling off assets to MNCS in the name of FDI. Their own voters are in illusion. As far as castes are concerned, the BJP wants to turn Dalits into slaves. Parties like the RJD have acceptability across caste lines. Now, they are projecting as if Hindus are with the BJP. They are dividing the voters. When Nitish left us and joined hands with the BJP, papa (Lalu Prasad) was asked the same question and he firmly said, “No”. After Nitish insulted the people’s mandate, people saw him as a turncoat. Now, if we take him back, people will accuse us of doing the same thing. They will say, we are ‘paltimaar’ (somersaulters). We highlighted 36 scams in the Bihar assembly against the earlier BJP-JDU government. How can we forget that?
As far as Paswan and Upendra Khushwaha are concerned, if they take a decision and admits their errors, then we can consider their plea to return to our side. I will be very grateful to my Nitish chacha (uncle) for giving me this opportunity to become the leader of the Opposition at this very young age. During my tenure as minister, I formed a panel to take decisions and stopped the source of corruption at ministerial levels. People who thought I won’t be able to perform, I have proved them wrong. But I am still learning as there is no end of knowledge. It’s the same RJD of Lalu-ji. Even if he is not here right now, our party will run on his ideology.