Lalu struggles to ward off family feud

Patna

[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]A[/dropcap] family feud has come in the way of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad in appointing the leader of the newly-elected legislature party of the RJD. With more than one claimant for the post from his family, Lalu is struggling to resolve the issue, but the dispute has injected a dose of bitterness in the family.
Lalu has never kept it a secret that his successor in the party will be from his family.

Lalu is in favour of nominating his younger son Tejashwi Yadav, a former cricketer, as the leader of the legislature party…

This was one of the reasons which prompted Madhepura Member of Parliament (MP) Pappu Yadav to rebel against Lalu and float his own party in the assembly polls.
But in a family where at least four members are vying for his legacy, it’s going to be a tough task for Lalu to appoint the RJD legislature party leader, who will also be his de facto successor.
After pulling his wife, Rabri Devi, out of the kitchen and appointing her as Chief minister in 1996 when his arrest looked imminent in the Rs 900 cr ($136 million) fodder scam, Lalu joined the breed of Indian politicians who brazenly endorsed the dynastic politics of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]P[/dropcap]lacing the love of his family above loyal party workers, Lalu fielded Misa as a candidate in the 2014 Lok sabha elections. The decision led to the rebellion by his trusted aide Ramkripal Yadav who switched over to the BJP, defeated Misa, and is now a union minister.
In the recently-concluded assembly polls, Lalu fielded both his sons and placed his entire might to ensure their victories. Now that both the undergraduate political greenhorns are members of the assembly, a fierce war has broken out in the family as to who should be groomed as the face of the party.
Sources said Lalu is in favour of nominating his younger son Tejashwi Yadav, a former cricketer, as the leader of the legislature party, overlooking the claims of elder son Tej Pratap Yadav. While both sons are virtually illiterate, Tejashwi is more articulate and sober of the two.
Sources said egged on by Misa, Tej Pratap has warned that he would not endorse his younger brother’s coronation. Given the fact that he is a temperate young man, Lalu has reasons to be worried if he decided to ignore his claims. Even in a party where his words are like Divine decree for his MLAs and cadres, it will be next to impossible for Lalu to enforce acceptance of Tej Pratap as CLP leader.
The drama has not come out in public as yet, but if Lalu does not resolve the issue soon, tongues would start wagging, and that would not do any good to future of the RJD.

Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 US Dollar = 66.20 Rupees.