Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on Thursday declared that a few party insiders who do not want to see him rise as a leader are plotting to sour his ties with his younger brother Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.

"There are some people in the party who are guided by RSS and Nitish Kumar and they act on their instructions. There are people who do not want me to emerge as leader and want to spoil my relationship with Tejashwi, whom I want to see as chief minister of Bihar," Tej Pratap said when asked about differences with his younger brother.

He was speaking to a few reporters before going to Sitab Diara to take part in the concluding programme of the padyatra launched by the student wing of the RJD that he heads.

He also made it clear that it is Lalu Prasad who still leads the RJD. He stressed that the party functions on the order of his father and it is Lalu who fixes all the programmes.

The posturing was read as a signal to Tejashwi, who is the de facto leader of the party with Lalu in jail.

Asked about the chances of him being sidelined in the RJD, Tej Pratap shot back: "Why and how can anyone sideline me from the party as long as Lalu Prasad is there? Though he is in jail but he is the one who controls the party."

He added: "I do not have any power struggle with Tejashwi and I have already announced that he is my Arjun. But, yes, there are some people in the party who want to create a situation like the Samajwadi Party. This group is there in UP as well as in Bihar also - those who want to create trouble between brothers. Nobody can dare sideline me and the party is still run by my father, even though he is in jail."

Talk of the rift between Lalu's sons gained momentum after Tej Pratap skipped a party meeting at home in 10 Circular Road.

"I had returned from Mathura on the eve of the meeting and I was tired due to the long journey because I was travelling by road. I skipped the meeting because I was tired," Tej Pratap said.