Patna: The family feud inside the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) founder Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family is still making news as the Bihar assembly elections approach. This is a moment when the Opposition is supposed to be united.
The most recent scandal started when Lalu’s daughter, Rohini Acharya, unfollowed the official social media accounts of the party, her father, and her brother Tejashwi Yadav. She then made her account private. Even though the issue was eventually resolved, it has once again brought attention to the growing rifts in the family, especially because Lalu’s older son Tej Pratap Yadav has been estranged.
The Sanjay Yadav Issue
Party sources say that the real reason for this fight is the sudden rise to fame of Sanjay Yadav, who has been a close friend and aide to Tejashwi Yadav for a long time.
Sanjay got his MBA from Delhi University and worked in Gurgaon before becoming RJD’s backroom strategist for more than ten years. He remained by Tejashwi through thick and thin, especially when Lalu Yadav was found guilty in the fodder scam.
Sanjay has been a key figure in establishing the party’s strategies over the years. He has done everything from setting up data systems for each seat and district to running the party’s communications and teaching its spokespeople.
Now, Sanjay has moved up even more. He has won a seat in the Rajya Sabha and is publicly known as Tejashwi Yadav’s closest aide, like Ahmed Patel was for Sonia Gandhi or KC Venugopal was for Rahul Gandhi in the Congress.
Fight Over Party Tickets
Tejashwi Yadav’s revelation that only one ticket will be given to each household, including his own, made people even more angry. This policy had a direct effect on Rohini Acharya, who was said to be interested in running for an assembly seat in the Saran Lok Sabha constituency.
Earlier, there were also fights when Sanjay Yadav took Tejashwi’s normal bus seat during the Bihar Adhikar Yatra. The issue caused so much trouble that the next day, Tejashwi had two Dalit leaders sit in his place to avoid more anger.
Rising Concerns in the Party
Supporters close to Tejashwi say that he should be able to make decisions freely because Lalu chose him as his political heir. However, many in the family and the party who don’t like him complain about how he works. Some others say that Tejashwi has stopped answering their calls, which makes them even more unhappy.
As Bihar gets ready for important elections, the RJD family’s internal problems could make it hard for the state’s opposition to stay united.