Tejashwi reviews poll loss, asks cadres to brace for challenges

Patna: A meeting of the RJD, held at the residence of opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Saturday, asked party workers to strengthen the organisation and prepare to face upcoming challenges. This was the second such meeting in the past two days. Several senior leaders, including state president Mangani Lal Mandal, MPs, legislators and the party’s national secretaries, attended the meeting, which lasted nearly three hours.

Party sources said Tejashwi carried out a review of the party’s performance in the recently held assembly elections and urged workers to strengthen the organisation while forcefully raising people’s issues. He also dropped hints about possible action against those found indulging in anti-party activities.




“Tejashwi interacted with the party functionaries and asked them to be prepared for future challenges,” party MLA and former minister Alok Kumar Mehta said. While he did not elaborate, sources said the RJD faces the major challenge of keeping its MLAs intact, with the party’s strength in the assembly having come down sharply to 25.

Madhepura MLA and former minister Chandra Shekhar said the party had secured a substantial number of votes despite losing seats. “The meeting reviewed the lapses in the assembly polls, for which a strategy is being planned,” he said. He added that the meeting also discussed taking disciplinary action against leaders who indulged in anti-party activities during the polls.

In the meeting, it was also decided that RJD will celebrate the birth anniversary of socialist leader Karpoori Thakur across its district headquarters on Jan 24, followed by a massive gathering in Patna in February to mark his death anniversary.

Meanwhile, amid the growing demand for a Bharat Ratna to be conferred on CM Nitish Kumar, a poster by RJD workers was put up outside the party’s office on Beerchand Patel Path, demanding a Bharat Ratna for Lalu Prasad. The poster by Ranjeet Rajak demanded this honour for Lalu, calling the latter the messiah of the poor.