Lalu Prasad Yadav Addresses Family Conflict: Tejashwi and Rohini's Feud Following Bihar Election Defeat

Patna:

RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav has addressed party leaders regarding the ongoing family conflict, stating he would personally "deal" with the feud between his son Tejashwi Yadav and daughter Rohini Acharya following the party's poor performance in the recent Bihar assembly elections, according to sources.

During Monday's meeting of newly elected RJD MLAs, Lalu made his first public comments on the family crisis that emerged on Saturday. "This is an internal family matter and will be resolved within the family. I am there to deal with it," Lalu stated at the Patna gathering, sources revealed.

The meeting included prominent RJD figures such as Lalu's wife Rabri Devi, eldest daughter Misa Bharti, and senior leader Jagdanand Singh. During the session, Tejashwi was selected as the legislature party leader.

Lalu reportedly praised Tejashwi's efforts, noting that he "worked very hard" for the Bihar elections, despite the RJD securing only 25 seats in the 243-member assembly—its second-worst electoral performance since 2010. According to sources, Lalu expressed confidence that "Tejashwi will only take the party forward."

The conflict between Tejashwi Yadav and Rohini Acharya intensified on Saturday, just one day after the election results were announced. During a confrontation at their Patna home, Tejashwi, who had been the Opposition's chief ministerial candidate, allegedly blamed Acharya for the electoral defeat.

Sources report that Tejashwi told his elder sister, "Tumhare karan ham chunaav haar gae" (We lost the election because of you) and "Tumhara haay lag gaya ham logo ko" (We are cursed because of you). The argument allegedly escalated to the point where he threw a slipper at her and verbally abused her.

Following this incident, Rohini Acharya made a startling announcement on social media platform X, declaring she was disowning her family and withdrawing from politics. She claimed senior RJD leader Sanjay Yadav, a close associate of Tejashwi, and Rameez Nemat Khan, a longtime friend and core team member of Tejashwi, had asked her to do so.

Acharya, who unsuccessfully contested the 2023 Lok Sabha elections from Saran, stated she was "taking all the blame," though she didn't specify whether this referred to the Bihar election results or another matter.

When questioned by reporters about her post, she responded that anyone who challenges Tejashwi's advisors faces expulsion from the family. "I don't have a family anymore. Go ask Sanjay, Rameez, and Tejashwi Yadav. They have thrown me out of the family because they don't want to take responsibility. People who want to be Chanakya will be the ones questions will be asked of. When a party worker is asking questions of Chanakya... the world is asking how the party ended up in such a situation," she explained.

She further alleged, "When you take Sanjay and Rameez's name, however, you are thrown out of the house, you are defamed, and you are attacked with slippers."

In a subsequent post on Sunday morning, Acharya described her humiliation: "Yesterday, a daughter, a sister, a married woman, and a mother was humiliated; filthy abuses were hurled at her, and a slipper was raised. I did not compromise on my self-respect, I did not surrender the truth, and solely because of this, I had to endure this insult."

She added that she was forced to leave her "crying parents and sisters out of compulsion" and that "They took my maternal home away... They left me orphaned... May none of you ever walk my path; may no family ever have a daughter-sister like Rohini."

In another emotional post, Acharya claimed she was insulted regarding the kidney she donated to Lalu Yadav in 2022. "Yesterday, I was abused and told that I am filthy and that I got my father to have my filthy kidney transplanted into him after taking crores of rupees, buying a ticket... To all the daughters and sisters who are married, I will say that when there's a son or brother in your maternal home, never, ever save your God-like father; instead, tell your brother, the son of that house, to get his own kidney or that of one of his Haryanvi friends transplanted."

She advised other women to focus on their immediate families: "All sisters and daughters should look after their own homes and families, take care of their children and their in-laws' household without caring for their parents, think only about themselves... For me, it became a huge sin that I didn't look after my family, my three children, and didn't take permission from my husband or my in-laws when donating the kidney."

Acharya emphasized that she donated her kidney to save "my God, my father" and concluded with the somber wish: "May none of you ever make a mistake like mine; may no family ever have a daughter like Rohini."

Reports suggest Acharya was dissatisfied with the expulsion of her elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, from the party for "irresponsible behaviour." Nevertheless, she had been seen campaigning for Tejashwi before the assembly elections.

Sources indicate that three more of Lalu's daughters—Rajlakshmi, Ragini, and Chanda—have also reportedly left the family's residence at 10, Circular Road in Patna.