‘Will support him to hoist Tricolour at Red Fort’: Tej Pratap on ‘uncle’ Nitish

Bihar cabinet minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tej Pratap Yadav on Saturday became the latest voice to speak in support of chief minister Nitish Kumar for the Prime Minister’s post. Tej Pratap, brother of deputy chief minister Tejahswi Yadav and son of RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav, said Kumar is his uncle, adding he will support him in hoisting the Tricolour at the Red Fort.

“He is my uncle. This is a government (in Bihar) of 'Mahagathbandhan'. We will support him in hoisting a flag at Red fort,” Tej Pratap was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

There has been speculation that Kumar may become the prime ministerial candidate of the Opposition ahead of 2024 general elections. Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JD-U) recently snapped ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and brought back Mahagathbandhan government to power in alliance with the RJD and Congress.

Earlier, Tejashwi Yadav had said that Kumar could emerge as a “strong candidate” for prime minister in 2024 if opposition parties agreed to consider him for the job. Kumar enjoys “immense goodwill” on the ground, Yadav had told PTI in an interview.

The coming to power of the Mahagathbandhan - comprising the JD(U), the RJD, the Congress and several small parties in Bihar- “augurs well for opposition unity”, said Yadav who has made a comeback as deputy chief minister in Bihar’s new government.

“It signals that most of the Opposition parties recognise the larger challenge before the country -- the hegemony of the BJP, where on the back of money, media, and (administrative) machinery power, they are determined to stamp out all diversity from the Indian society as well as from the political spectrum,” the RJD leader told PTI.

(With agency inputs)