Rashtriya Janata Dal

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2024

Jainarain.Pandey, June 5, 2024: The Times of India

Patna: There was much at stake for the family of RJD chief Lalu Prasad in the Lok Sabha elections. His two daughters — Misa Bharti and Rohini Acharya – were contesting from Patliputra and Saran respectively, while younger son and political heir Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was leading the combined Opposition for the first time in a general election.


After drawing a blank in the 2019 LS polls, RJD has managed to claw back lost ground by winning 4 of the 26 seats it fought, including Patliputra where Misa contested. Tejashwi has now set the tone for the assembly elections due next year; the verdict makes it clear that he will be the opposition’s face for Bihar CM against Nitish Kumar or a BJP candidate. In all, the RJD member and his allies (Congress and CPI-ML) have won 9 of the total 40 seats.


Tejashwi has already had his share of ups and downs. After the 2015 state polls which RJD contested with JD(U), he became deputy CM. By sticking to an agenda of jobs, employment, education, and health, the 34-year-old Tejashwi generated a following among the youth. He largely succeeded in conveying the message that it was he who facilitated “5 lakh jobs in 17 months” as deputy CM of Bihar.


Tejashwi did not resort to personal attacks on Nitish when he lost his job after the JD(U) veteran parted ways with RJD in Jan this year. Instead, by refusing to needle Nitish, Tejashwi kept observers guessing. He provoked speculation about Nitish’s plans when he said that “chacha” would take a big decision after the June 4 poll results. It forced Nitish to make it clear in his public meetings that he would never part ways with BJP.


Nitish’s about-turns have given Tejashwi an opportunity to emerge from the shadow of his father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad. He has established himself not only as the face of his party but also of the opposition bloc. The elections have also proved Tejashwi’s willingness to experiment by fielding candidates of castes other than those that traditionally dominate in a particular seat. He picked a Dalit candidate in a constituency meant for the general category. And he fielded Kushwaha candidates — who belong to Nitish’s caste — to dent the NDA vote bank. His ability to look beyond Lalu’s M-Y (Muslim-Yadav) formulation is expected to yield rich dividends in the long run.

2025

Tej Pratap Yadav expelled

Sanjiv Das, May 26, 2025: The Times of India

Patna : In Bihar’s complex political theatre, few figures are as erratic, unpredictable and, at times, bewildering as Tej Pratap Yadav , elder son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Once introduced as a rising heir to his father’s legacy, Tej Pratap has evolved into a political liability, a family outcast, and, most curiously, a man whose personal whims have routinely overshadowed the party’s agenda.


This election year in Bihar, Tej Pratap has become the proverbial thorn in Lalu’s side, a distraction the veteran socialist could no longer ignore. On Saturday, Tej Pratap again seized headlines, not for strategy or statesmanship, but for posting on social media about a new “relation” with a woman. The announcement was casual, dramatic and ambiguous, a pattern now familiar to those who have followed his journey over the past decade.


While dynastic politics in the country often comes with high expectations, Tej Pratap never seemed to settle into the role. His early appearances as state health minister in 2015 — more notable for clumsy media interactions than policy achievements — left many wondering whether he was suited for public life at all. Reports of him consulting astrologers for state matters and allegedly bringing a cow into his ministerial bungalow for “positive energy” became tabloid fodder and marked the beginning of a reputation built more on eccentricity than governance. 


Tej Pratap’s dramatic personal life has also been central to his public persona. His 2018 marriage to Aishwarya Rai, granddaughter of former CM Daroga Rai, was supposed to cement a powerful political alliance. Instead, it turned into a scandal. Within months, he filed for divorce, alleging domestic discord, while Aishwarya accused him of abuse and erratic behaviour.


Family tensions spilled into public view as Lalu and Rabri Devi struggled to contain the fallout. In one infamous episode, Tej Pratap declared he was going on a pilgrimage to escape “toxic atmosphere” of home. His tantrums did not stop there. He often skipped key party events, launched public tirades against younger brother Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, now firmly established as Lalu’s political heir, and floated vague threats of forming his own political outfit. 


Saturday’s post, just months before assembly elections, appears to be another in a long line of personal dramas staged in public view.


In a rare but decisive step, Lalu Prasad finally acted. Tej Pratap was formally expelled from RJD and disowned by family. The message was clear — political survival trumps paternal indulgence.