Tej Pratap Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son, is all set to wed Aishwarya Rai, daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Rai, on 12 May. The much-talked about wedding has obvious political overtones, with the rank-and-file of Indian politics on the guest list.
An important question everyone is asking — will the ‘united’ opposition click a ‘family photo’ at the ceremony?
Lalu Prasad being granted bail just a day before the ceremony has come as a relief to the Yadav family, but also has piqued interest about who all will arrive to break bread with the jailed RJD supremo.
Hoping to Spot the Gandhis
While warm invitations have been extended to the Gandhis, an RJD leader close to Lalu told The Quint, “We hope that Rahul and Priyanka come for the wedding, but they are busy with elections in Karnataka, so it’s possible they might not be able to,” .
Rahul visiting Lalu at AIIMS in Delhi on 30 April led to much political speculation and a number of conclusions being drawn. On 3 May, Lalu’s daughters Raklakshmi and Ragini met Sonia Gandhi to personally invite her to the wedding.
However, nobody from the Gandhi family has confirmed their plans to attend or skip the wedding.
Mamata Likely to Skip
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on 11 May took to Twitter to congratulate Lalu on the wedding and the bail. Lalu, in his response, urged Mamata to attend the ceremony.
According to the information available with The Quint, while Mamata won’t attend the wedding, a senior Trinamool Congress leader definitely would.
Mulayam-Akhilesh To Grace the Occasion
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will reportedly attend the wedding.
One of RJD leaders taking care of the preparations told The Quint that the Yadavs have confirmed their presence.
PM Modi Invited
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah have also been invited to the wedding. However, they are not expected to attend. Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi is reportedly travelling to Poland on Saturday, 12 May. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, however, is expected to attend.
BJP firebrand MP Shatrughan Sinha’s presence is confirmed. Sinha has been tweeting and taking stands in favour of Lalu for a few days now.
Lalu’s Poor Health a Matter of Concern
The wedding preparations have been marred by Lalu’s ill-health. Jailed on corruption charges related to the fodder scam, Lalu was granted six weeks’ interim bail by Jharkhand High Court on medical grounds.
Lalu has been directed to not make political statements or speak to the media.
One of the RJD’s leaders told The Quint: “Taking care of Lalu’s health will be a priority once the wedding is done. He will be taken wherever needed for the treatment.” However, he is not allowed to leave the country.
Lalu’s kidney and heart are reportedly weak. His sugar levels reportedly shot to as high as 406 and was brought down to 135 after heavy medication.
Lalu was on parole for three days before he was granted bail. He will have to travel to Ranchi jail on 14 May. He will then be released as per court orders.
(The story was first published on Quint Hindi and was translated to English by Eshwar Gole.)
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