Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s second daughter, Rohini Acharya, on Saturday announced on X that she is “quitting politics and disowning her family.”
In her post, Acharya also attributed her decision to the party’s Rajya Sabha lawmaker Sanjay Yadav and Rameez, who are considered close to the leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, saying, “This is what Sanjay Yadav and Rameez had asked me to do… I am taking the blame.”
The post, which is seen as an attack on Sanjay, comes a day after the RJD suffered one of its worst electoral performances in the past decade. The Rajya Sabha MP is considered the key election strategist for Tejashwi, who was the CM face of the opposition INDIA bloc and had exuded confidence of forming the government by securing a clear majority in the Bihar polls.
While the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept the Bihar polls with 202 seats, the RJD managed just 25, with Tejashwi himself initially trailing in several rounds from his Raghopur seat before eventually winning by a margin of 14,000 votes. The Mahagathbandhan, or Grand Alliance, secured only 35 seats.
People in the RJD feigned ignorance about what prompted Acharya to post the message on her X handle on Saturday, but said that the 46-year-old homemaker-turned-politician’s face-off with Sanjay a couple of months ago during the run-up to the state assembly polls—and the party’s subsequent debacle—may be linked to the latest episode of growing discord within the RJD’s first family.
On Friday, during the vote counting, Acharya posted multiple messages on X, urging RJD workers to remain vigilant and “not allow any tampering” by staying put at the centres.
“There is more to what meets the eye. Rohini has issues with Sanjay Yadav pertaining to the latter’s stature as a key aide of Tejashwi. There could be some internal squabbling in the family, which led to Rohini making the post,” a GA leader, seeking anonymity, said.
Acharya, who donated one of her kidneys to her father in December 2022, had earlier clashed with Sanjay after objecting to him occupying the front seat of a campaign vehicle during Tejashwi’s yatra ahead of the assembly polls.
There had been speculation that Acharya, who unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the Saran seat, was upset with Tejashwi and his close aide over not being given more clout in the party. She had posted a series of messages on X, saying she “would never compromise with her self-respect and has no lust for power.” Later, Acharya and Sanjay dismissed reports of any rift between them.
Meanwhile, there was no official reaction from the RJD MP on Acharya’s post.
The feud within the RJD’s first family had surfaced earlier in May, when Tejashwi’s elder brother and former minister Tej Pratap was expelled from the party after stirring controversy by posting pictures with a woman on his X handle, only to delete them later. Tej Pratap went on to float his own party, the Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD), and lost from the Mahua assembly seat in this election. He has remained critical of the RJD’s internal affairs.
BJP spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said it was unfortunate that Acharya, who donated her kidney to her father, was now “compelled to sever ties with her family.” “This is an indication of how the RJD’s first family is facing a crisis of internal squabbling and sibling rivalry,” he said.
JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar said Acharya’s decision to snap ties with her family was worrying, as it showed “how a daughter is not getting respect in her own family and from her brother,” taking a swipe at the RJD chief and Tejashwi.
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