Patna: The RJD has decided to focus on expanding its base for the 2019 Lok Sabha election rather than celebrating its bypoll victories.

Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, leader of Opposition in the Assembly, held a marathon meeting at 5 Deshratna Marg on Saturday evening. The agenda: giving the RJD's core committee the task to spread party chief Lalu Prasad's message to the Dalits and backwards and working for their rights.

The meeting started at 4pm and went on till 8pm. Most of the senior RJD leaders who are members of the core committee were present at the meeting.

"We discussed measures to expand the base of the party and reach out to all sections of people, specially the Dalits and backwards who have become the target of the BJP. I have urged the senior leaders of the party to come out of celebration mode after the bypoll results, and make strategies to perform better in the coming days as very little time is left for the general elections," Tejashwi told The Telegraph on Sunday.

RJD state unit president Ram Chandra Purbey, Shivanand Tiwari, Jagadanand Singh, Shiv Chandra Ram, Tanveer Hasan, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Alok Mehta, Lalit Yadav, former Union minister Kanti Singh and Surendra Yadav were at the meeting.

The topic of expanding and strengthening the party's base was discussed after the special CBI court in Ranchi pronounced the 14 years' imprisonment for RJD chief Lalu Prasad in the fourth fodder scam case.

Ever since Lalu has gone to jail, former deputy chief minister Tejashwi has taken over the responsibility to lead the party in his father's absence.

Leaders at the core committee also decided that once the budget session of the Assembly was over next month, Tejashwi would launch the third phase of his Samvidhan Bachao Nyay Yatra.

The RJD has decided to call a meeting of its legislators on April 5 once the budget session concludes on April 4.

Shivanand Tiwari, who was present in the meeting, said: "The discussion was mostly on the strategies to expand the party base from its present strengths. It was decided to make panchayat committees on the lines of block and district committees. The leaders discussed how to connect more people to the party and measures needed to solidify our voters."

Strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections were also discussed, he said.