‘See myself as Bihar’s future leader with 50 yrs in politics’
The Rashtriya Janata Dal’s comprehensive win in recent by-elections in the Arariya Lok Sabha seat and the Jehanabad assembly seat in Bihar has brought leader of the opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav to the spotlight. The 28-year-old politician has come out of his father Lalu Prasad’s shadow to hold the reins of his party and perhaps play a larger role in state and national politics.
In an interview to Anirban Guha Roy, Tejashwi Yadav spoke about the bypoll results, the challenges ahead and the need for compatible parties to form an alliance to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in the 2019 parliamentary general elections. Edited excerpts:
The RJD won two seats in the bypolls under your stewardship. With your father in jail (after conviction in cases connected with the fodder scam), how challenging was it and does it signifies a new era in RJD now?
Our family has gone through challenging times since my father went to jail for the first time in 1997 and my mother Rabri Devi was made the chief minister. We have gone through turbulent times and accepted challenges.
Even recently, there was a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) raid in our house and an FIR was lodged against me and my parents. But there is no trace of any charge sheet in the case. It has become a norm to target one family, one leader and one party. We cannot help it. We went to the by-polls telling people about the victimisation of our family, especially Lalu ji. There was palpable anger among people who voted for us. Similar anger was seen in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP lost both its seats. My father had initiated (moves) to unite the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in UP...In RJD, people have accepted and blessed me.
With Lalu Prasad in jail, there were apprehensions of a split in the RJD. Has the bypoll result doused dissension within the party?
They (BJP-led National Democratic Alliance) have been making prophesies of RJD splitting for a long time. But all such talk have vanished into thin air. It is the JD(U) [or Janata Dal (United)] which has seen so many leaders deserting the party. From Ramai Ram to Upendra Kushwaha and more recently Sarfaraj Alam, who victoriously contested as an RJD candidate from the Araria parliamentary seat, dumped JD (U) for good. Nationally, the NDA is suffering jolts one after another. Telugu Desam Paty (TDP) has quit while Shiv Sena and LJP (Lok Janshakti Party) are making dissenting noises. RJD is intact and yes, the by-poll results have galvanised the party workers.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar has called the bypoll results an effect of the sympathy factor. Do you agree ?
(laughs) Our chief minister has the habit of double speak. The results were a big setback for the JD(U) and BJP as both Araria and Jehanabad are not traditional seats of the RJD.
From 2004 to 2014, the Araria seat was with the BJP and only in 2014 (Mohammed) Taslimuddin won it. The BJP now is talking that Araria would become an ISI (Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence) hub. When Sarfaraj Alam was an MLA of the JD(U), an ally of the BJP, till two months back, why did the constituency not become an ISI hub?
The by-poll mandate was against the NDA and the chief minister knows he has lost the battle.
What will be your new role in the party? Are you ready for 2019 parliamentary polls? What will be the issues?
I see myself as the future leader of Bihar who has 50 years in politics. The present breed of top politicos running Bihar is at the fag end of their career. People of Bihar are ready for the 2019 poll and it would be a decisive election in all terms. I respect elders and have got support of my senior leaders. I am unaware how my name cropped up as the CM candidate in the RJD’s national executive.
The issues for the parliamentary polls would be denial of special status to Bihar, migration, poverty, corruption in Nitish’s rule. His government is embroiled in the Srijan scam, toilet scam, paddy scam etc. This government has patronised corruption and we have the task of exposing it. Again, fanning religious passion to derive votes is a big threat and we are committed to strengthening social harmony in the society and defeating divisive forces. (The Srijan Mahila Sahyog Samiti is an NGO, in whose accounts large amount of government funds were allegedly fraudulently transferred between 2004 and 2014).
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is talking to YSR Congress ( an Andhra Pradesh party) and likeminded parties to form a federal alliance sans the Congress. What is your take on it?
The federal front is still an idea. It is premature to talk about it. Congress is trying to unite all likeminded secular parties. Sonia Gandhi had recently hosted a dinner in which I was present. I feel all like-minded parties should forgo their ego, sit together to discuss the dynamics of forming a new front. They should arrive at a decision soon in the national interest to defeat the BJP- led NDA. Winnability of seats should be the primary factor for formation of the front. We are in alliance with the Congress in Bihar. In Uttar Pradesh, a new experiment of SP-BSP alliance has yielded good results. I will also ask the Congress to join a grand alliance as we did in Bihar.
It is often speculated that there is sibling rivalry between you and your elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav? He often puts the party in a fix with his controversial statements.
There is no sibling rivalry. These are all rumours. We brothers share a strong bond and my elder brother is very protective about me. As for his statements, I feel, sometimes he speaks from his heart as he is a clean-hearted person. Yes, Tej had made a statement about skinning the PM when my father’s Z-plus security (cover) was withdrawn. My brother had made the statement just to show his concern about his father and it was a spontaneous reaction.