Patna: RJD national president Lalu Yadav's estranged brothers-in-law Sadhu Yadav and Subhash Yadav on Saturday sought to fish in troubled waters by accusing the former Bihar chief minister of having ignored his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav when naming Tejashwi Yadav as his political successor.
The brothers of Lalu Yadav's wife Rabri Devi, who succeeded him as chief minister, used to wield tremendous influence in Bihar politics and administration when the RJD was in power.
They were also elected to parliament when Lalu Yadav moved to Delhi and became a union minister in 2004. Over the years, however, the two fell out of favour with the RJD chief.
Talking to a regional news channel separately, Sadhu Yadav and Subhash Yadav squarely blamed Lalu Yadav for the perceived struggle for supremacy between Tej Pratap - who of late has shown greater interest in the RJD's affairs - and Tejashwi Yadav - who was declared the party's chief ministerial candidate last year.
"It was his (Lalu's) excessive fondness for Tejashwi that led him to turn his back on us. Now he is doing the same to his elder son. Being the elder child, Tej Pratap too must get something," Sadhu Yadav said.
Similar views were echoed by Subhash Yadav, who suggested that in the event of the RJD winning power in Bihar, one of the brothers should head the government while the other should lead the party.
Sadhu Yadav recently made an appearance at a dharna staged by Tej Pratap at a police station, triggering speculation that the maternal uncle was egging on his mercurial nephew to take on the younger brother who enjoys greater clout within the party.
However, Tej Pratap Yadav side-stepped queries about his being goaded by his maternal uncles to embark on a collision course with Tejashwi Yadav.
"If the uncle does not act in a way that benefits the nephew, he gets finished like Kansa was slain by Krishna," Tej Pratap Yadav, known for his fondness for mythological metaphors, remarked cryptically.
