JJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav.
Credit: PTI Photo
Patna: Former Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav on Saturday asserted that his younger brother Tejashwi, whom the INDIA bloc has named chief ministerial candidate for the assembly polls, was yet to come out of the shadow of their father Lalu Prasad.
The Hasanpur MLA, who has floated Janshakti Janata Dal after being expelled from RJD, was responding to queries from journalists about his more famous younger sibling being called "Jan Nayak" (hero of the people) by enthusiastic supporters.
"Jan Nayak is an epithet associated with giants like Ram Manohar Lohia and Karpoori Thakur. Even Lalu Prasad fits the bill. But Tejashwi owes his standing to Lalu Prasad. The day he makes a mark for himself, I will be the first to call him a Jan Nayak," he replied.
Yadav, who is now trying to wrest back Mahua, the seat from which he made his debut a decade ago, stuck to the stand that after elections, he would not return to his father's party nor would he be a part of any other political formation.
He also exuded confidence that he faced "no contest" in Mahua, where he claims credit for the establishment of a medical college and promises to set up "an international stadium that would host a cricket match between India and Pakistan".
The RJD has given a ticket to Mukesh Raushan, sitting MLA from Mahua, who is a close aide of Tejashwi Yadav.