RJD MP and Lalu’s brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav's open defiance in the Capital on Tuesday had come as a surprise for many as the RJD chief is supposed to have mentored the political career of the Gopalganj MP. After being denied a ticket, he has now threatened to take on RJD and LJP candidates from East Champaran and West Champaran.

Senior RJD leaders conceded that Lalu was challenged on “home front”. “We had never expected Laluji’s brother-in-law to go this far, “ they said. They also feel that despite Lalu’s charisma, the “Sadhu factor” might also damage party’s prospects in the elections as it would be tough to convince voters as to why Lalu failed to keep his family together.

“Everybody knows who made Sadhu a leader and an MP. The way Sadhu was praising Sonia Gandhi after being denied a ticket is nothing but disregard to the RJD chief. Laluji has done the right

thing by giving him a stern message of expelling him in the event of not apologising for his open defiance,” said a senior RJD leader.

The LJP, too, is facing dissension from Rajya Sabha MP Sabir Ali, its minority face. Ali said: “The minority community was not given its due share. It is one thing to call oneself leader of Muslims, another to really work for their benefit.”

It’s not all hunky-dory for the JDU either. On a day when it brought to its fold three prominent RJD rebels, supporters of JD(U) leader and Agriculture Minister Nagmani stormed into the party office at BC Road here protesting denial of ticket to Nagmani’s wife Suchitra Sinha from Ujiyarpur.