Tej Pratap Yadav: Controversies, Conflicts, Challenges Of Legacy

The recent political trajectory of thirty-seven-year-old Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi, has been consistently controversial—he has made headlines, albeit for the wrong reasons.

Once introduced as the heir to Rastriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Yadav’s political legacy, ’s recent string of personal and public controversies has been routinely overshadowing the party’s political agenda. In fact, the latest one—over a Facebook post—led to his expulsion from the party and his family for six years.

It not only put a blot on his career, but also raised an important question in the political arena—what is the future of Tej Pratap, or Teju bhaiyya, as known by his staunch supporters. He also prefers to be addressed by names that evoke mythological grandeur—like Krishna and Lakshman.

What Led To His Expulsion From RJD

On May 24, Yadav shared a photograph on Facebook in which he was seen with a woman, Anushka Yadav. The post claimed that the two had been in a relationship for 12 years. He soon deleted the post and claimed his social media account had been hacked, but the damage was done.

The Opposition was quick to target Tej Pratap, Lalu’s family and the RJD because he was earlier married to Aishwarya Rai, the daughter of senior RJD leader Chandrika Rai and granddaughter of former Chief Minister Daroga Rai. The two married in 2018, but their relationship soured within months. The matter of divorce is still in court.

This is not the first time Tej Pratap’s actions have put the RJD in an uncomfortable position. His history of erratic behaviour is long. In 2017, he allegedly and reportedly threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Lalu’s security was downgraded from Z+ to Z. On the last day of voting in the 2019 General Elections, a video of an alleged assault on a video journalist by his bodyguards went viral, after which Tej Pratap lodged an FIR, calling it a conspiracy to kill him.

Earlier this year, a video surfaced showing him at a Holi event asking his bodyguard—a constable—to dance, and threatening suspension when he hesitated. In May 2024, he publicly slapped an RJD state general secretary during a function and forced him to get off the stage.

He has reportedly misbehaved with senior RJD leaders like Jagdanand Singh, Shivanand Tiwari and the late Raghuvansh Prasad Singh. He even mocked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, shouting, “Where is our ‘paltu chacha’ uncle?” while passing by his residence.

Tej Pratap: The Rebel Kid

Tej Pratap has long been seen as the unpredictable child, someone who pays little heed to social or political norms and likes to live by his own rules. Lalu and his family have always been targeted by opponents because, for years, they ignored Tej Pratap’s behaviour and looked the other way.

But this time, the response was different. For the first time, he faces serious consequences. Was this response to his increasingly disruptive behaviour a pre-election course correction or something else?

Pushpendra Kumar Singh, former professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Patna, believes the expulsion was strategically timed. “Lalu Yadav feared that the controversy might morph into a debate on moral values and family ethics, which could damage the RJD in the upcoming Bihar elections,” he says.

He believes that the move could benefit the party electorally and will help the leadership regain the moral high ground and dispel the longstanding charge of dynastic favouritism. “Tej Pratap has been undermining the big leadership of the party, causing dissatisfaction among party workers. Lalu’s family was facing allegations of nepotism due to not taking any action against Tej Pratap. Now that he has, he will use this to regain the moral ground,” says Singh.

While the BJP and JD(U) have dismissed the expulsion as a mere electoral gimmick, the RJD maintains that personal matters should not be politicised.

Abhishek Jha, the JD(U) spokesperson, while acknowledging that the Tej Pratap–Anushka issue is personal, insists that it comes under public purview. “When you are in public life, your actions influence society. If something wrong is done to a woman and her rights are violated, the party must respond,” he said.

Jha was referring to Tej Pratap’s estranged wife, who has publicly accused the Yadav family of abuse, even questioning Lalu’s silence on social justice when she was thrown out of his house. “Lalu and his coalition know that this will be detrimental, which is why they are performing drama in the name of social justice and morality. Where was this morality when a daughter-in-law was mistreated at his home?” asks Jha.

Anushka is the sister of Akash Yadav, the former state president of the RJD’s student wing. It was Tej Pratap himself who had appointed Yadav to that position. He stands firmly with Tej Pratap in this entire controversy and has taken a confrontational stance against former Deputy Chief Minister and Tej Pratap’s younger brother, Tejashwi Yadav. He has accused Tejashwi of politically sidelining Tej Pratap within the party.

Incidentally, almost a month after the expulsion, Tej Pratap alleged that the Facebook post was a conspiracy to create a rift between him and his more successful brother. Using Mahabharata imagery, he wrote on social media platform X: “Those dreaming of a rift between me and Arjun (Tejashwi) will never succeed. They can win over the military of Krishna, but can’t capture Krishna himself.” A few days after he wrote this, he met Anushka Yadav and defended the visit by saying: “No one can stop me.”

There is also talk in political circles that the actions being taken against Tej Pratap are a part of an effort to clear the way for Tejashwi to become the chief minister.

Uncertain Legacy

Political analyst Mahendra Suman believes that Lalu Prasad is currently not in a position, especially on account of his health, to take harsh decisions concerning both the party and his family. He feels the move is from the Tejashwi camp and the entire episode is part of the internal family struggle for political legacy. “Right now, there are multiple factions within Lalu’s family, and the power struggle among them will become more visible after Lalu. Such succession conflicts are common in modern political dynasties. This also indicates that Lalu no longer holds the same grip over the party as he once did,” says Suman.

When asked whether the Opposition will benefit politically from this controversy, he said it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the elections. However, Lalu’s opponents will likely try to link this issue to the longstanding allegations of corruption against him, reinforcing their narrative.

Tej Pratap’s political journey has been a mixed bag. He made his political debut in the 2015 Assembly polls and is a second-term MLA with two brief stints in the state cabinet—Health Minister and Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the Nitish Kumar-led government. During his stint, he promoted horse-riding as an initiative to curb pollution in the state.

In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Tej Pratap floated a separate front named after his parents—Lalu Rabri Morcha—and accused his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav of being surrounded by sycophants. Defying the party, he backed a different candidate, Chandraprakash, in the Jehanabad Lok Sabha seat against the official RJD nominee Surendra Yadav. While Yadav lost by 1,751 votes, Chandraprakash, Tej Pratap’s pick, managed to get 7,755 votes.

There are also rumours that Tej Pratap may return to the RJD before the upcoming elections.

On this, RJD state spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari says: “This is purely a family and personal matter. It should not be politicised. Our opponents, unable to challenge us politically, are using such issues to distract the public. Both Tejashwi Yadav and Lalu ji have spoken on the matter, and since they are already handling it, there is nothing more to add.”

However, Singh from TISS believes the had his return been considered, such stern action would not have been taken against him. “Neither the BJP nor JD(U) can afford to bring him into their parties, given that they have previously run campaigns against him. If they include him now, it will politically push them on the back foot,” he says.

(Translated by Kaveri Mishra)