Yadav trio join hands to rock Lalu's boat

Protgs want to defeat all RJD-JD(U) candidates

Three prominent Yadav chieftains — Ranjan Yadav, Devendra Yadav and Pappu Yadav — all erstwhile protégés of Lalu Prasad, have joined hands and vowed to teach their mentor a lesson in the ensuing Assembly elections.

“Lalu Prasad has used Yadavs only to serve his political interest. Instead of taking care of Mandal parivar (OBCs, EBCs and other weaker sections), he is hell-bent on promoting his parivar (family) which includes his wife, son and daughter. We have, therefore, joined hands to ensure the defeat of all the RJD-JD(U) candidates,” said Ranjan Yadav, the friend-turned-foe of RJD chief.

Dr Ranjan, who had trounced Lalu from Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency as the JD(U) candidate in 2009, last week deserted Nitish, too, charging that the Bihar chief minister has joined the same forces (Lalu-Rabri) against whom he got a landslide mandate in 2010. “It is sheer rank opportunism on the part of Nitish to mend fences with Lalu just to stay in power,” he said.

Pappu Yadav, the Madhepura MP who defeated JD(U) president Sharad Yadav in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, said Lalu does not have a monopoly on 14 per cent Yadav votes.

“Though numerically strong, it was in fact Yadavs who had to bear the brunt in the last two decades. I have statistical figures that over 32,000 Yadavs were killed in the Lalu-Rabri- Nitish regime from 1990 to 2015,” he said, urging his community members to wake up and assert their rights.

Devendra Yadav, the former MP who was a Union minister in the Deve Gowda regime as a representative of Lalu’s RJD, was equally angry. “We will campaign in all the 38 districts, 534 blocks and 8,500 panchayats to ensure defeat of Lalu-Nitish nominees,” said the former parliamentarian, who has joined Jitan Ram Manjhi’s fledgling outfit HAM (Hindustan Awam Morcha).

Aware of the political damage they could cause to his nominees in the ensuing polls, slated to be held in October-November this year, Lalu Prasad on Monday called his former protégé Pappu “Mir Zafar” (the traitor).