Lalu's son Tejaswi Yadav tells Amit Bhelari why he chose to contest from Raghopur, whether people will accept his father's alliance with Nitish Kumar and more
Raghopur's sitting MLA Satish Kumar had defeated your mother Rabri Devi from Raghopur. Why did you choose this seat?
Raghopur is traditionally an RJD seat. My father contested from this there twice and won. My mother, too, has won from here thrice. We have had close ties with the people of Raghopur since the Janata Dal days. People of Raghopur have always supported my parents. I think they will support me as well. My father has done lots of work there, from erecting pontoon bridges to providing electricity. Something may have gone wrong in 2010 to cost us the seat, but now with the Grand Alliance in place, we are looking at winning across the state and I had wanted to contest from Raghopur.
If Satish Kumar rebels and contests elections as an Independent, how will you counter the damage? (Satish has since joined the BJP, which has fielded him from Raghopur)
If Satish is a true soldier of the party, he should not rebel against me. He should instead support the Grand Alliance's candidate. Our only goal should be to defeat communal forces like the BJP and the RSS. Losing and winning is another thing. Even Indira Gandhi had lost elections. In 2010, my mother polled the most votes compared to her earlier performances, but even then she lost. I do not want to go into why she lost, but Raghopur is an important seat and the eyes of the whole nation would be on it. So, it is our duty to perform well here. Satish ji claims he has done lots of work for Raghopur, so let the people decide. They will assess the work and vote accordingly. The government laid the foundation stone of the six-lane Kacchi-Dargah to Biddupur bridge (Vaishali) over the Ganga recently, after the RJD began supporting the JDU. If Satishji claims to have undertaken development work, the foundation stone should have got laid much earlier. He had said he would build a bridge on Raghopur's riverine belt but did not. I think Satish ji ignored his duty as MLA. I want to focus on providing basic needs to the people of Raghopur, be it safe drinking water or good educational institute. Banana farming takes place there but it could do with a food-processing industry. When we form the government, I will ensure the banana produce is utilised better. I want to set up an industry in Raghopur. I have done a booth-wise survey and identified problems in each booth. I have also decided to issue a separate manifesto for Raghopur.
You have seen Nitish Kumar, your father Lalu Prasad and mother Rabri Devi as chief ministers. Who among these was the best and why?
All three became chief ministers at different times and in different scenarios. There was a different demand each time. When my father became chief minister there was a demand for social justice and he stressed on giving opportunities to everyone and bringing the downtrodden into the mainstream. My father gave voice to the poor. He gave them respect. You all know under what circumstances my mother became chief minister. When my father was at the peak of his career, he became the target of opposition leaders who framed him. If my mother had not become chief minister at that time, the RJD would have splintered away. She kept all leaders united and worked towards the state's development. If you check the GDP ratio from 1990 to 2000, it was always on the rise. Both performed better according to the time and situation. That is why we got the love of people for 15 long years. When Nitish ji became chief minister, it was our government at the Centre. We pumped money into the state and he utilised it properly. He built bridges and roads and brought development but more needs to be done. That is why the two big parties in Bihar have come together. We have come together for social and economical justice. We are not against any particular caste. We want people who are downtrodden, irrespective of caste, to be part of the development process. Opposition parties calls this effort casteism, but it is a baseless charge. My father made the railways a profit-making organisation. He was invited to Harvard University. As far as who is best among the three, I would say all three are best. It is like asking who is the best from among Sachin, Dhoni and Virat Kohli. All three are good. What matters is which one plays well at which stage and position.
Your father and Nitish came to politics after completing their studies. It seems you have not spent good time on the campus and entered politics without completing your studies.
I get your question. You are trying to say that I am contesting just because I am Lalu Prasad's son. Look, how can I change my identity? Lalu ji is famous the world over. Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf had said my father should contest elections from Pakistan. There is a Lalu Chowk in the UAE. How do expect me to ignore my identification with Laluji. Wherever I go, people will surely say I am Lalu's son. Since 2010, I have been working for the party without holding any post or inconveniencing anybody. I have been working hard to spread the party's ideology. I am stressing on the role of youth in the state's development, as 57 per cent of voters are the youth. When the state develops, the youth of Bihar will also gain and we are working on how to bring the youth into the mainstream. Today's youth take interest in Bollywood and sports, but when it comes to politics they ignore it. I am trying to create political awareness. I have the opportunity. I played first class cricket, represented the under-19 Indian team. I used to play with Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja. So, people recognise me. I can, thus, reach out to the youth and explain who is damaging Bihar's image by using terms like "Jungle Raj". We fought for the rights of poor people, and they call it Jungle Raj. The BJP-led Maharashtra government said those who do not know Marathi would not get autorickshaw permits. Who are these people who run autos in Mumbai? They are mostly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, the Jharkhand chief minister said people from Bihar would not get group D government jobs there. Both these states are ruled by the BJP. So, when two Gujaratis come to Bihar and say they want to run the state, people of Bihar should think seriously. These RSS and BJP people just want to divide people, the BJP sells dreams. They just want to implement their hidden agenda and when questions are raised, they call it jumla (claptrap). When people ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi questions, he becomes mum and on normal days he just writes on his Twitter handle. Bihar elections will decide Narendra Modi's future.
Nitish is the chief ministerial candidate of the grand alliance. Tell us a few qualities of his that attract you.
He is a sober person. He thinks deeply on issues. He executes his work with full honesty. He listens to other's ideas. He knows the art of keeping bureaucrats on their toes and uses them effectively in policy-making.
When Nitish first came to power, the mandate was against your father. He ruled the state for 10 long years by raising the fear of Jungle Raj. Now he is part of your alliance. Will people accept this alliance?
When people are in opposition, they pull each other's legs. Take the case of Ram Vilas Paswan. He had once proudly said in Pakistan that he resigned from the NDA government after the 2002 riots. The same Ram Vilas is now with Modi. Haven't people accepted him? So, in politics such thing happens and people of Bihar are politically aware.
Your father is known as a mass leader. What have you done to connect with people?
My father is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest mass leaders. I came to politics in a different period and time. My father had to struggle. There weren't as many communication tools those days. People used to go on bicycles to campaign. This is a different, hi-tech, era. Today, sitting at one place you can send a message to any part of the world, over social media, through a cellphone. There were no cellphones when my father began his political career. Today, there are various means of communication like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp. But despite the media at my disposal, I still visit places, communicate with people and put across my thoughts. In politics you have to connect with the masses. Those who cannot do so, will fade out.
Youths constitute a sizeable chunk, around three crore, of the voter population in this Assembly election. As a young man, what is your vision for them?
I think, we must provide them good infrastructure in the form of good colleges and increase the number of schools. Government schools should have quality teachers who impart quality education. There are many schools in Bihar where there are no benches or good blackboards. In the pattern of private schools, government schools, too, should provide third language, computer classes and other technical facilities. There should be more engineering, medical and technical colleges. Unless and until these things are provided to the youth, you cannot improve their future. Once you provide them good education and good infrastructure, they would automatically get jobs. It would automatically cut the number of people going outside the state. Industry will also come to Bihar. There should be focus on sports, too, and youth commissions should be formed to look after the problems youths face. There should be community centres at block level where youths can meet and interact. There should be libraries in every school. So there are things we need to stress upon for the youth. There should be special care centres for backward youth. Families that are rich can afford all this, but what about poor families and their children?
What would you have been had you not entered politics?
Before coming to politics, I used to play cricket. I had to leave it because my ankle ligaments got damaged twice. I could not continue. If I had not entered politics, I would have opened an institute for cricket or opened a media channel through which I would have mirrored society's problem before people.
Key facts about Tejaswi Yadav
• Born on November 9, 1989 in Patna
• Did schooling from DPS RK Puram, New Delhi, but did not complete schooling. He left studies after night class, to pursue a career in cricket. For some time he was also part of IPL’s Delhi Daredevils team.
