PATNA: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Monday asked party functionaries to focus on strengthening the party while the “family matter will be solved inside the house”, an obvious reference to the ongoing family feud playing out in public. Lalu, his wife Rabri Devi and their elder daughter Misa Bharti were present at the meeting of legislators and candidates called at their Patna residence by the party post-election.Addressing them, Lalu said whatever happened was inside the family and he would sort it out. After RJD’s rout in the assembly election, Lalu’s daughter, Rohini Acharya, has blamed brother Tejashwi Yadav’s aides Sanjay Yadav and Rameez Nemat Khan. On Saturday, a teary-eyed Rohini, on way to Delhi, also alleged she was subjected to abuses and misbehaviour at their Patna residence and said she was quitting the party and disowning her family.Soon thereafter, the newly elected RJD MLAs chose Tejashwi as their legislative party leader. Apart from Lalu Prasad, his wife and former CM Rabri Devi and their eldest daughter and party MP Misa Bharti also attended the meeting.“Tejashwi ji was emotional. He gave us the option to elect anyone else as the RJD legislative party leader,” the legislator said, adding Tejashwi also launched an indirect attack on Rohini, saying he had been asked to deny “someone” a ticket, but he refused to do so. “What to do? Do I see the party? Or the family?” he asked.The meeting also discussed the party’s poor performance, with particular emphasis on seats lost by narrow margins.Senior RJD leader Jagadanand Singh, speaking after the meeting, blamed EVMs for RJD’s disastrous performance. “Till the time machine (EVM) is there, democracy will be mocked. These machines were misused,” alleged Singh.Another RJD MLA, Bhai Birendra, echoed the charge while speaking to the media. “We have to fight against electronic voting machines. We demand the elections should be held using ballot papers,” he said. RJD managed to win 25 of the 143 seats it contested in the polls for the 243-member Bihar assembly, finishing in the third place. In 2020, RJD had emerged as the single largest party in the assembly.
