Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Tejashwi says it's RJD vs NDA in Purnea, gets slammed by Pappu Yadav

Purnea, Bihar: Congress leader Pappu Yadav, who has queered the pitch for ally RJD by throwing his hat in the ring in Purnea Lok Sabha seat as an independent candidate, on Tuesday said Tejashwi Yadav lacked the 'patience' of his father Lalu Prasad.

Pappu Yadav made the remark in response to queries from journalists who drew his attention to speeches by Yadav who has been campaigning intensively for the RJD candidate Bima Bharti.

The Purnea seat is currently held by JD(U) MP Santosh Kushwaha. Pappu Yadav won the seat thrice in the 1990s, and now, despite being an Independent candidate, he is being seen as a key contestant.

At a rally on Monday, Tejashwi Yadav had said, "The choice is clearly between INDIA bloc or NDA. If you do not support Bima Bharti (of RJD), you shall be deemed to be with the NDA."

A video clip of this remark has gone viral, with political commentators viewing the utterances as a sign of desperation on the part of Tejashwi Yadav, who is said to have played an instrumental role in stymying Pappu Yadav's bid to contest from Purnea as the I.N.D.I.A. bloc candidate.

Pappu Yadav said, "Why does he get so impatient? It seems he has not inherited patience from his father".

He added, "I am not perturbed. I draw inspiration from an old parable in which a sage had remained unruffled by the sting of a scorpion".

Pappu Yadav sidestepped queries as to whether he thought Tejashwi Yadav has given up on Bharti, who had recently quit the JD(U) to join the RJD, but bristled at repeated accusations of being the BJP's 'B team'.

"I am a commoner and cannot comment on kings and princes', Pappu Yadav said sarcastically, adding 'But what is this talk of B team? Would he attach the same label to all those senior RJD leaders who have quit the party in recent past?"

He said he has been fighting on behalf of the INDIA bloc.

"On April 26, the date of voting, the people of Purnea will make history. After that I will campaign for the INDIA bloc at many places, including Amethi and Rae Bareli," he said.

Stating that he won the Madhepura seat for the RJD twice, he asked, "Was I a BJP B team even then? Is Kanhaiya Kumar too a BJP B team?"

The former JNU students' union leader is often seen as a potential rival to the RJD scion, a reason why the party fielded a candidate against him when he contested from Begusarai in 2019 as a CPI candidate.

Pappu Yadav also hinted that he would campaign for Hina Shahab, widow of Mohd Shahabuddin, the strongman from Siwan, who has been denied a party ticket this time by RJD which is yet to decide its candidate for the seat.