The eldest daughter of jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Misa Bharti, on Monday acknowledged that there was a “rift” between her brothers Tej Pratap and Tejashwi, but affirmed the party remained a “big family”.
There have been reports over the past several months that Tej Pratap had been resentful of Tejashwi being made Lalu's successor.
Latching onto Bharti's statement, the BJP alleged that the admission of infighting in the RJD would lead to the collapse of the party and its dynasty politics.
Addressing RJD workers in Maner on the outskirts of Patna, Bharti asked them to give up bickering and stay united.
"Even our family has witnessed a rift between two brothers but where do differences not come up? Five fingers of our hands are not equal. But the RJD is like a big family," Bharti said.
"We are not lacking in support base. The challenge is to keep our flock together," she added.
However, Bharti later claimed that her call for unity among party workers was presented in a distorted manner.
Taking to Twitter, Bharti said, "My appeal to party workers to forget their differences and unite in the larger interest of the party is being distorted and presented out of context.”
Maner falls under the Pataliputra Lok Sabha seat from where Bharti had made an unsuccessful electoral debut in 2014. She got elected to the Rajya Sabha later.
Bharti further warned that no "backstabbing" will be tolerated by any member of the RJD.
"The time has come for you all to give up small differences and brace for the bigger challenges and do not give our opponents a chance to exploit the situation," she said.
State BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said, "Misa Bharti has admitted what we all know. The RJD will crumble because of the infighting within the family that controls the party."
"The BJP has been fighting against the politics of dynastic rule and corruption. The RJD embodies these evils and it will meet its fate," Anand said.
Said to be a favourite of Lalu, Tejashwi was appointed the deputy chief minister of Bihar while the elder brother Tej Pratap was given a cabinet berth, after the grand alliance, of which RJD was a part, won the 2015 assembly polls in which the brothers made their electoral debut.
At present, Tejashwi, viewed as more suave and savvy among the two brothers, is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.
Tej Pratap, whose mannerisms allegedly remind supporters of Lalu in his heyday, is currently on a pilgrimage in Kurukshetra. In June and July, Tej Pratap had put up posts on social media that hinted he was unhappy at Tejashwi. However, Tej Pratap soon issued clarifications and affirmed his support to Tejashwi and even went on to accuse the BJP and RSS of hacking his social media handles.