PATNA: After decades of being the face of RJD, patriarch Lalu Prasad is ceding political space to his son Tejashwi Yadav as INDIA bloc’s Bihar chief ministerial candidate takes centre stage in a poll campaign designed to recast the party’s image around the heir.Lalu, still the RJD president, doesn’t feature in any of the poll posters projecting Tejashwi as Bihar’s “nayak” and promising momentous changes if he is elected CM. The ailing former CM and Union minister hasn’t been seen in public either, although his wife Rabri Devi, also a former CM, did travel to Raghopur recently.
So, is Lalu’s health the only reason he isn’t part of the campaign or has one of Bihar’s most influential political figures over several decades outlived his utility?RJD sources said that Lalu receding into the background is part of a conscious attempt to neutralise the negative factors associated with the state’s main opposition party. RJD’s 15-year stint in govt still invites “jungle raj” jibes from NDA, with Lalu being painted as the central figure.Sources added that the patriarch, known for his witty asides and retorts, is still active on social media platforms, targeting his rivals with his trademark one-liners. “Lalu’s name or posters featuring him provide fodder to NDA to target us. So, the party brass has cleverly planned to keep him out of poll campaign this time, focusing on Tejashwi instead,” said an RJD functionary.In 2020, Tejashwi came close to forming govt, with only 12 seats separating the RJD-led alliance from NDA. The gap in total votes polled for both sides was 11,150.The general impression is that Tejashwi is being extra cautious this time about not wading into any controversy. He is also trying to “give a touch of positivity to the campaign”, talking about providing jobs to every family, regularising services of contractual workers in govt departments, and ending migration.His favourite pitch? “Just give me a chance, and I will do in 20 months what wasn’t done in 20 years.” And all of this without once mentioning his famous father’s name.
