PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav would taste defeat from his assembly constituency, Raghopur in Vaishali district, in the upcoming assembly election, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor claimed on Saturday.
During his ongoing Bihar Badlao Yatra in Raghopur, Kishor said that Tejashwi would meet the same fate as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who had suffered a humiliating defeat in Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 election.
Kishor said that Tejashwi would run away from Raghopur if Jan Suraaj Party fielded him (Kishor) as its candidate from the same seat in the coming assembly election. "It does not matter whether I contest election or not, but I have selected Raghopur as my ‘karmabhoomi’," he added.
Sources said that Tejashwi has decided to contest the election from two seats--Raghopur and Phulparas (Madhubani). Tejashwi got elected Raghopur twice--in the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections. Earlier, the seat was held by his parents, Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi.
Kishor grabbed the opportunity to attack RJD leader for his continuous absence from his constituency and lack of basic amenities even after becoming deputy chief minister in the Grand Alliance government.
“When people of his constituency were facing hardship due to floods, he (Tejashwi) was dancing with some fans on the road along the river Ganges in Patna,” Kishor said, adding that his entry to Raghopur will herald a new chapter in the history of the area.
He said that representatives from all political parties would start contacting social workers and prominent people of Raghopur after his maiden visit to the area. Kishor assailed voters for supporting candidates on caste loyalty and promised change through his party’s initiatives.
Referring to his candidature from Raghopur, he said that the party’s central committee would decide its Raghopur candidate. “The candidate will be decided depending on feedback from the area,” he said.
He also said that Tejashwi would have to contest from two seats if decided to contest the election from Raghopur.
The JSP is the only party that has released its candidates for the upcoming polls — with 51 names on the first list. No contestants have been named so far from the Raghopur constituency held by Tejashwi in the present assembly.