BJP’s ‘missing Tejas’ post reignites political debate

Patna: A social media post by the BJP claiming that RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is “missing” from the state’s political scene after the assembly poll defeat reignited political debate on Wednesday.While the ruling

NDA

alleged Tejashwi “ran away” from the political scene after the humiliating poll defeat, the RJD termed it as a reflection of how the NDA suffers from “Tejashwi phobia” even after victory.The political scene got heated up moments after the BJP issued a poster about the “Missing Tejashwi”, saying they all have been looking for him. “He was last seen running away after hiding his face from the media,” the BJP post said on Wednesday.Tejashwi was hardly visible in public since the RJD’s crushing defeat in the polls, which concluded last month. He was even seen skipping most of the assembly sessions and remained largely away from political activities.

He is currently said to be on a tour of a foreign country, although none from his party or family has confirmed this.Launching sharp attacks on Tejashwi’s absence, JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said first the RJD leader ran away from school, and now he is “running away” from politics too. He alleged the RJD leader is missing from the scene since the people of the state have rejected him “politically” by restricting his party to only 25 assembly seats.

However, the RJD said the NDA reactions indicated it suffers from “Tejashwi phobia”. “If the NDA reaction is anything, leader of 25 RJD MLAs Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is proving heavier over the leader with 202 seats in the Bihar assembly,” RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said.Alleging the NDA got a “managed mandate”, Gagan said the ruling coalition still remains under the panic of Tejashwi’s popularity and continues targeting him in his absence.

“The masses are with Tejashwi Ji although the NDA won elections,” he claimed.The controversy has been fuelled by Tejashwi’s absence from public life following the RJD’s disastrous performance in the assembly elections. First, he skipped most of the five-day House session and then quickly left for a trip to a foreign country along with his wife and two children, drawing sharp reactions from the ruling coalitions.Before the conclusion of assembly polls, though, Tejashwi was the most visible face, holding press conferences at regular intervals and even announcing dates for his swearing-in ceremony, which ultimately did not happen.