Lalu Pitches for Son Tejashwi as Bihar CM Face; Pressure on GA

RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday exhorted party workers at the state council meeting in Patna to work unitedly in the forthcoming Assembly polls so that his younger son and leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav becomes next chief minister of state, a clear indication that RJD being the senior constituent in the Opposition INDIA bloc is going to project the 35-year-old Yadav scion as CM face of the party and may put pressure on all allies, including Congress, for a formal announcement of Yadav's candidature to the top post.

- Anirban Guha Roy

PATNA:

"We have to oust the RSS and CM Nitish Kumar from power in the state. We have to work unitedly to make Tejashwi the next CM of the state," Prasad said, while delivering a small speech at the conclusion of the state council meeting of the party at Bapu bhawan here, where the party's newly elected state president Mangani Lal Mandal was officially declared as new incumbent to the post.

In his speech, Mandal, who hails from extremely backward caste (EBC) group, also exhorted party workers to work diligently to make Tejashwi next CM, stating that, "winds of change are already blowing in Bihar and this present government would go soon".