PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad Yadav distributed party tickets to several hopefuls before his son and political heir Tejashwi Yadav intervened early Tuesday, reminding him that the INDIA bloc—led by the RJD in Bihar—had yet to finalise its seat-sharing arrangement.
On Monday evening, a chaotic crowd gathered outside 10, Circular Road, the residence of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, when she and Lalu returned from Delhi after a court appearance. Excitement ran high as aspirants, reportedly summoned by the party, arrived one after another—many leaving the bungalow with the RJD symbol in hand and smiles on their faces.
However, Tejashwi, who returned from Delhi hours later, was reportedly unhappy with his father’s premature move. Party insiders said he cautioned that public images and videos of candidates flaunting RJD symbols could upset alliance partners since seat negotiations were still ongoing.
Following his intervention, the distribution of tickets was halted, and past midnight, those who had already received them were asked to return their papers, citing “technical issues.”
According to sources, the RJD plans to make a formal candidate announcement by Tuesday evening, with Tejashwi himself expected to file nomination papers from Raghopur on Wednesday.
Among those who briefly received tickets were Sunil Singh (Parbatta)—a recent defector from Nitish Kumar’s JD(U)—and Narendra Kumar Singh alias Bogo, a multi-term former MLA from Matihani, who has twice won under Nitish Kumar’s banner. Several sitting RJD legislators, including Bhai Virendra, Chandrashekhar Yadav (Madhepura) and Israil Mansuri (Kanti), were also seen leaving Lalu’s residence waving the party symbol.
The scene recalled last year’s Lok Sabha elections, when Lalu distributed tickets unilaterally before alliance partners reluctantly agreed to the allocations.
Besides the Congress, the RJD’s allies include three Left parties, Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insan Party, and potentially Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s JMM and Pashupati Kumar Paras’s RLJP.
