Lalu's son Tejashwi Yadav justifies 'forward vs backward' battle in Bihar, plays safe on Deputy CM candidature

Raghopur: Two sons of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav are trying their luck in the Bihar Assembly elections. While elder son Tej Pratap Yadav is contesting from Mahua constituency, the younger one, Tejashwi Yadav, is in fray from Raghopur seat.

In an exclusive chat with News18, Tejashwi justified his father's forward vs backward card in the polls, making a reference to the recent killing of two children from a Dalit family in Haryana.

"At present the situation is very similar to that in 1990s. In society, the feudal forces have started creating nuisance, and it is the need of the hour to bring the backwards on one table to counter the feudal forces," said Tejashwi.

He further said, "See what happened in Haryana? Kids of Dalit were burnt alive and Prime Minister Modi is still silent over the incident. The government is implementing RSS agenda in the society and we need to be careful about it."

This was also conveyed by Tejashwi to a public gathering at the Vajitpur village in Raghopur.

This comes after Lalu, during an election campaign for his son, had told a public gathering at Terasiya that this election is a battle between the forward class vs the backward class.

Tejashwi further refuted claims that his parents, both of whom have served as MLA from Raghopur, have done no development work in the region. Responding to a query on the same, he said, "Several work has been done. The foundation stone for Ganga bridge has been laid and it will be completed soon. I am young and if given a chance, I will change the image of entire area."

He, however, feels that the development of Raghopur can't be done by just one MLA, and that the region needs support of leaders from nearby constituencies too.

In Raghopur, Tejashwi is facing a tough contest against BJP's Satish Rai. In the last elections, Rai had defeated Rabri Devi by a margin of over 13,000 votes on JDU ticket.

Inside the RJD camp, Tejashwi is being considered a Deputy CM if Mahagathbandhan touches the magic figure. When asked about it, he said, "If we win, I am ready to accept whatever responsibility is given by Nitish ji and my party."