Patna: Speculation was rife yesterday, a day before the inauguration of Nitish Kumar-led coalition ministry, that Tejashwi Yadav, younger son of RJD boss Lalu Prasad, could be named deputy CM. Another contender was Misa, Lalu’s eldest daughter, but Tejaswi appeared to be the front-runner.
Tej Pratap, his elder brother, is seen as a strong contender for a berth in the cabinet from the quota from the RJD which won more seats than JD (U).
Who gets what will determine the future of the RJD as it goes in for a succession battle in the wake of Lalu, being barred from contesting polls because of his conviction in a corruption case. Tejaswi, is considered Lalu’s favourite by many.
Tej Pratap strayed into business but did not succeed and stayed put in the political arena without much success till now. Misa’s loss in the last Lok Sabha election only increased the uncertainty. She lost the polls, but that she was nominated at the cost of a revolt by the old faithful, Ramkripal Yadav, now Union minister, was seen as a pointer to Lalu’s plans for the eldest of his nine children.
Both Tej Pratap and Tejashwi are first-time members of the state assembly. Though she is not a legislator, Misa could enter the legislative council on the seat vacated by Lalu’s trusted lieutenant Bhola Yadav, now an MLA, RJD sources said.
Speculation is also rife that senior RJD leader and prominent Muslim face of the party, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, may be sworn in as deputy CM in the new cabinet. Siddiqui is one of the 24 Muslim MLAs who have been elected in the bitterly-fought election between the grand alliance and BJP-led NDA. The RJD had fielded 16 Muslim candidates in the election, of which 12 made it to the new assembly. Siddiqui is the senior most among them.
