Political sons shun politics

Patna, Nov. 1: Sons of Bihar’s “big three” (Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan) are ready to rise, but not in their family “trade”.

Politics, of course, may secretly remain the fall back plan, but for now, the four would be content to seek their fortunes in glamour, cricket and engineering.

Of late, RJD president and railway minister Lalu Prasad has been taking his sons along to his meets. But the doting father has claimed that Tej Pratap and Tejaswi “will have nothing to so with politics”.

During the chetavni rally on October 28, Lalu took both along to introduce them as “good cricketers” and sought the crowds’ blessings for them.

His sons, for their part, waved to the audience and then got busy taking pictures of their father when he took to the stage to flay the government.

Tej Pratap and Tejasvi are indeed cricket lovers, while the younger Tejasvi, a Class X student, represents New Delhi in the BCCI-run u-17 circuit. His father has often spoken of their admiration of Jacques Kallis.

While the juniors here harbour Team India hopes, Lok Janshakti Party president’s son is more “flamboyant”.

Ram Vilas Paswan’s son, Chirag, created quite a flutter in political circles when he attended an Iftaar party with his father.

But the BTech student who resides in New Delhi flaunts a flamboyant look complete with Dhoni-cut and contact lenses and harbours dreams to make it in the tinsel town.

Here, too, Paswan senior doesn’t see his son as a politician and there is no “pressure” to make it big here.

“Chirag wants to go to Bollywood. He has been offered some roles but he has not made up his mind so far,” said the Union minister adding that his Chirag’s future was up to his son to chart out.

Perhaps the least known of the three is Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant, who religiously keeps away from the media glare.

Nishant, a BIT-Mesra (Ranchi) graduate, was last spotted with his father performing the last rites of his mother.

The chief minister’s only child has no interest in politics. He stays away from social and political gathering and passes off as a commoner even when he visits any place. Unlike the media savvy three — the young Nishant seems happy scouting for a job in his hometown.

A senior JD(U) leader described Nishant as a “private” person. “He is rarely seen with his father. Nor does Nitish Kumar like to discuss his son publicly,” said he.