Amid no seat pact in I.N.D.I.A. bloc, Tejashwi Yadav files nomination papers from Raghopur

Patna: Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Assembly and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday filed his nomination papers from Raghopur constituency in Vaishali district.

Flanked by his parents Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, both former Chief Ministers of Bihar, the youngest son Tejashwi submitted his papers at Hajipur, the headquarters of Vaishali. His elder brother Tej Pratap has been expelled from the RJD as well as Lalu’s family for his misdemeanour.

RJD citadel

Raghopur is considered the fiefdom of Lalu and his family. This is one constituency across the Ganga from where Lalu has won the seat twice while Rabri Devi thrice. Tejashwi has been winning this seat since 2015 and hopes for a hat-trick in 2025.

Prashant Kishor, who amid much fanfare, had dropped ample hints that he could challenge Tejashwi in the latter’s citadel, on Wednesday withdrew from the poll race and instead fielded a lesser-known mortal Chandan Singh as the Jan Suraaj candidate against Tejashwi.

Chandan, a Rajput, is a former general secretary of the Janata Dal (United) and headed the business wing of the JD (U) before switching over to PK’s pocket organisation Jan Suraaj.

Tejashwi dismissed reports in a section of the media that he may contest from two Assembly constituencies. “There is a strong rumour being spread against me by my rivals. The fact is I have been contesting and winning from Raghopur since 2015. And I will contest from this seat only,” Tejashwi put a lid on speculations.

The NDA, which, like Mahagatbandhan, is also facing internal dissensions, has not yet announced its candidate against Tejashwi.

“The JD (U) is not being run by Nitish Kumar anymore. The party is being run by three leaders Sanjay Jha (working president of the JD-U), Lallan Singh (Union Minister) and Vijay Choudhary (Nitish's Cabinet colleague). These three leaders have been ‘managed’ by the top BJP leadership. The entire voters of Bihar are watching these developments and will avenge the humiliation of Nitish through votes,” said Tejashwi after filing his nomination papers.

Meanwhile, though only two days are left before the filing of nomination ends on October 17 for the first phase of election on 121 seats on November 6, the seat pact in Mahagatbandhan is yet to be arrived at. “A final seat sharing pact will be arrived at very soon,” assured Tejashwi.