Tejashwi Yadav connects more with Nitish Kumar than father Lalu Prasad in functioning style

PATNA: A month after he assumed charge as deputy chief minister, Tejashwi Yadav has given enough indications that he prefers to emulate chief minister Nitish Kumar more than his father Lalu Prasad in style of functioning.

Tejashwi spares little time for entertaining party workers and spends time in his ministry office. His message to party workers is that he would appreciate their visit if they have genuine reasons. Tejashwi is minister for important departments like road construction, building construction and Backward/Extremely Backward Classes welfare department.

At his first appearance before party leaders, on November 26, after becoming deputy CM, Tejashwi asked party MLAs to show patience for allotment of accommodation. "It is the government which allots you flats or houses. I am in touch with government officials. There are government rules for allotment of flats or houses for MLAs," Tejashwi had told them, after reports that some MLAs had tried to occupy flats even before allotment.

If Nitish Kumar is a polished politician, Tejashwi is trying to project himself as a suave leader. Facing criticism after elevation as Number 2 in the Nitish government, he was careful in his reaction. While his detractors attacked him for his educational qualification, he just asked them not to ‘judge a book by its cover’.

While Lalu Prasad pays little attention to the way he dresses, Tejashwi loves to wear a blue or black jacket, white kurta and white pyjama, besides slip-in shoes. "Before holding any meeting with top officials of the departments he handles, Tejashwi does his homework well. He is trying to identify important issues relating to his department," a source in the state government said. He also spares time to watch power presentation in his departments.

He is now under plan to meet the road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari for expediting various national highways projects in Bihar. "I earnestly seek your valued and whole-hearted support for integrated development of road network in Bihar," Tejashwi recently wrote in a letter to Gadkari.