LALU YADAV'S FAMILY RIFT DEEPENS, DAUGHTER ROHINI 'DISOWNS' FAMILY MONTHS AFTER SON TEJ PRATAP'S EXPULSION; HERE'S WHY
Lalu Yadav's Family Rift: A day after the RJD suffered a major defeat in the Bihar Assembly election, finishing as the third-largest party with just 25 seats despite contesting more than 140 seats, RJD Supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter, Rohini Acharya, publicly announced her decision to sever ties with her family.
Former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter, Rohini Acharya, said on Saturday that she has decided to "quit" politics and is "disowning" her family, a day after the party suffered a crushing defeat in the assembly polls, securing only 25 seats in the 243-member state assembly.
Taking full responsibility, Rohini criticised Sanjay Yadav, an RJD MP and close aide of Tejashwi Yadav, saying, "This is what Sanjay Yadav had asked me to do."
"I'm quitting politics and I'm disowning my family ... This is what Sanjay Yadav and Rameez had asked me to do, and I'm taking all the blame," Rohini Acharya said.
This announcement is not entirely surprising, as a few months ago, Rohini Acharya's elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, was expelled from both the party and his family following a controversy over his personal life.
With Rohini "disowning" her family, cracks within Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family have deepened. Earlier this year, her brother Tej Pratap Yadav was expelled from both the party and family amid personal controversies.
Tej Pratap Yadav’s Expulsion from Family and Party
In May 2025, a fresh wave of controversy hit Bihar’s political landscape when RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav shared, and later deleted, a Facebook post claiming he had been in a relationship for 12 years. The revelation came while he was still legally married to Aishwarya Rai, the granddaughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Daroga Rai, and undergoing divorce proceedings.
The post included a photo of Tej Pratap with a woman identified as Anushka Yadav. The confession triggered widespread backlash, raising questions about why he had married Aishwarya in 2018 despite allegedly being in a long-term relationship with someone else.
Amid the uproar, Aishwarya expressed deep anguish and questioned the motives of the Yadav family. As tensions escalated, the controversy sparked a political storm within the family itself.
Party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav responded by expelling his son Tej Pratap from the RJD for six years, citing violations of the family’s values. Tejashwi Yadav and Rohini Acharya also distanced themselves from their brother.
Following the Facebook controversy, Tej Pratap claimed his account had been hacked and that the viral photo was fake. However, the damage was already done. The post had triggered widespread criticism and raised doubts about his personal decisions and timing.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Lalu Prasad Yadav stated that he had expelled his eldest son from the party for six years, citing a disregard for "moral values" in his personal life. He said, “Tej Pratap’s behaviour does not align with the family’s values and traditions.”
Tej Pratap Yadav later launched his own party, the Janshakti Janta Dal (JJD), and contested from the Mahua Assembly constituency. He faced a major setback, finishing a distant third as Sanjay Kumar Singh of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won with 87,641 votes and a margin of 44,997 votes, while RJD candidate Mukesh Kumar Raushan came second.
NDA Sweeps Bihar Polls
The NDA achieved a sweeping victory in Bihar, delivering a major setback to the opposition Mahagathbandhan. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, closely followed by Janata Dal (United) with 85. Other allies of the ruling coalition also performed strongly.
The Mahagathbandhan parties, including the RJD and Congress, suffered significant losses. Jan Suraaj, which had hoped for a strong debut after founder Prashant Kishor’s extensive campaign, failed to win any seats.
The ruling NDA secured 202 seats, a three-quarters majority in the 243-member assembly. This marks the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-seat mark, the first being in 2010 when it won 206 seats.
Within the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, Janata Dal (United) 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) 5, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha 4 seats.
( With inputs from agencies )