The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, has been missing for the past few days even as his state is reeling under a serious health crisis due to the outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).
This is the first time that the RJD failed to win a single seat in Lok Sabha polls in Bihar. In 2014, RJD had won 4 seats despite the Modi wave.
Interestingly, this is the first election the JD-U has contested without a manifesto. However, its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners -- the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) -- did release their manifestos.
BJP workers will not escape if they will try to spread violence in Bihar, says Tejashwi Yadav
Replying to questions from Rajat Sharma in the show Aap Ki Adalat, Tejashwi Yadav, who has taken charge of RJD in the absence of his father Lalu Prasad -- presently in jail, said: "Rahul Gandhi deserves to be the prime minister, because he has a long political innings as MP from Amethi. Moreover, he is the president of India's oldest political party."
Attacking Giriraj Singh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Begusarai in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav asked if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also wanted to remove the green colour from the national flag.
Tej Pratap Yadav sends a strong message to Tejashwi Yadav, says I won't change my stand
Among the other prominent RJD candidates, Lalu Prasad's eldest daughter Misa Bharti would contest from Pataliputra, which she had lost to her father's former loyalist-turned-BJP leader Ram Kripal Yadav in 2014. Chandrika Rai the father of Tej Pratap Yadav's estranged wife Aishwarya, will be fight from Saran.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has denied reports of a deadlock over seats in the "Mahagathbandhan" (Grand Alliance) in Bihar, saying it has been finalised and will be announced after the Holi.
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the RJD leader for challenging the government decision.
The court, on January 19 had extended the interim bail granted to the three which ended on Monday.
Tejashwi also emphasised that the issue of who will be the prime minister can be settled after the 2019 polls by grand alliance members collectively.
The Modi government met a key demand of those castes, which had so far not been covered under reservation benefits, earlier this month as it got a Constitution amendment bill passed in Parliament to give 10 per cent quota in education and jobs for the general category poor.
Speaking to PTI, the RJD leader said that since Congress is India’s oldest and currently the second-biggest political party having a pan-India presence, it is in a very strong position to win maximum number of seats among the opposition parties.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said since Congress is India's oldest and and currently the second-biggest political party having a pan-India presence, it is in a very strong position to win maximum number of seats among the opposition parties.
Asked what would be his party's stand regarding the Congress in Bihar in the wake of Samajwadi Party (SP)-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) combine dumping it in Uttar Pradesh, Tejashwi Yadav said: "The Congress has been with us from early on."
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav meets BSP supremo Mayawati at her residence in Lucknow. After the meeting he said the BJP does not stand a chance to come back into power and will be whitewashed in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
Soon after the formal announcement of the BSP-SP alliance on Saturday, Tejashwi had welcomed the new combination calling it a formidable alliance, which would pave the way for complete rout of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh where the saffron party is in power.
Leaders of the Grand Alliance have also been stating that a public announcement about the seat-sharing arrangements will be made only after January 14.
Political issues were discussed during the 45 minute meeting, Tej Pratap tweeted.
