Manjhi accuses Tejashwi of showing soft corner for NDA

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Thursday fired a fresh salvo at Lalu Prasads RJD, which heads the opposition Grand Alliance in the state of which his Hindustani Awam Morcha is also a part, charging its leader Tejashwi Yadav with displaying "a soft corner for the NDA". The HAM president made the startling allegation while defending his decision to announce his partys candidate from Nathnagar assembly seat, where by-poll is due next month,ahead of the Grand Alliances proposed meeting later this week.

He asserted "we cannot go on back foot after having played on the front foot". We had taken the decision to field Ajay Rai from Nathnagar with concurrence of alliance partners, long before the RJD stabbed us in the back by unilaterally giving tickets to its candidates for four out of five assembly segments where by-polls are to be held", Manjhi told reporters here.

The RJD is yet to go public with the seats it plans to contest and the respective candidates. However, there have been reports that on Tuesday tickets were surreptitiously given to aspirants for all assembly segments, barring Kishanganj which is the sitting seat of the Congress. "The RJDs treachery had left us with no choice. I was not in a position to show my face to the party cadre. So I had to formally announce the candidature of Rai in Bhagalpur on Wednesday. He will file his nomination papers on September 30.

And I hope better sense prevails when all constituents of Grand Alliance meet in Patna on September 28", he said. Squarely blaming Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD heir apparent and leader of the opposition in the state assembly, for the confusion prevailing in the five-party formation, Manjhi claimed "had we been in the wrong we would not have received support from our allies like the VIP headed by Mukesh Sahni".

"Even RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha, who has chosen to remain quiet so far, is sore over the manner in which Tejashwi Yadav has been functioning. Ever since the month-long monsoon session of the assembly, which he refused to attend for a single day, Yadav seems to have lost his way", Manjhi who had quit the NDA last year to join the Grand Alliance said. The HAM president, who had recently thrown his hat in the ring for the Chief Ministers post if the Grand Alliance came to power, clarified "I have no problem with the RJD having declared Tejashwi Yadav as its Chief Ministerial candidate.

But if the Grand Alliance comes to power, then obviously who will occupy the chair has to be decided with the consent of all parties. One party cannot impose its will on the allies". "I have always been quite fond of Tejashwi. But, of late, his responses leave me in doubt (lakshan theek nahin lag rahe hain). His words and deeds suggest that he has developed a soft corner for the NDA, especially the BJP", Manjhi charged.

Having the largest number of MLAs in the state assembly, the RJD has suffered a diminution of clout in the grand alliance since the Lok Sabha polls in which it put up its worst-ever performance and drew a blank. Tejashwi, the 29-year-old younger son of Lalu Prasad, who had in his initial years impressed all with his oratory, has since grown reticent and withdrawn.

The change in behavior has fuelled speculations that, with his father in jail and his entire family in legal wrangle, the young leader has capitulated before the NDA which has been on a roll under the aggressive leadership of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah..