Tejashwi very good boy, can lead when older: Uma Bharti

Praising Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti on Wednesday asserted that though age is on his side, he is not experienced enough to run a state and ultimately "Lalu would have been at the helm" of Bihar.

"Tejashwi is a very good boy. But Bihar was saved by the skin of its teeth because he wouldn't have been able to run the state. (RJD President) Lalu (Prasad Yadav) would have ultimately been at the helm pushing Bihar back into jungle raj. Tejashwi can lead when older," said Ms Bharti while talking to media in Bhopal.

"Kamal Nath ji has fought this election very well. Maybe if he'd ran his government this well there wouldn't have been problems. He's a very decent person, like my elder brother. He fought this election very tactfully," said the BJP leader.

The statement came a day after the BJP registered a crucial victory in the bitterly contested Madhya Pradesh bypolls winning by 19 seats, while Congress only managed to secure nine Assembly constituencies.

The Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh fell in March after 22 MLAs, considered close to former party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned.