PATNA: The turbulence within the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) first family deepened on Sunday, a day after Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya announced her decision to quit politics and sever ties with her family.
What began as a single outburst has now snowballed into a full-blown family crisis. Three more of Lalu’s daughters—Rajlakshmi, Ragini and Chanda—left the family’s 10, Circular Road residence in Patna early Monday, taking their children and flying to Delhi. Sources said their departure reflected growing distress over the recent turmoil.
On Sunday, Tej Pratap Yadav, who heads the newly launched Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD), issued an emotional appeal to his father and a veiled warning to those he termed “traitors.” He said, “Yesterday’s incident has shaken me to the core. What happened to my sister is unbearable.” Without naming anyone, he accused “new faces” of clouding Tejashwi Yadav’s judgment and warned that the consequences of “this injustice will be grave.”
“I urge my father to intervene for the family’s honour,” he said.
Neither Tejashwi nor his advisor, RJD MP Sanjay Yadav, has responded to Rohini’s allegations linking them to the family’s discord. RJD managed just 25 seats in the recent Assembly polls.
Rohini, who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Saran, alleged harassment and threats from Sanjay Yadav and his associate Rameez. With Rajlakshmi, Ragini, and Chanda’s exit, only Lalu, Rabri Devi, and Misa Bharti remain at the family home, which was once the nerve centre of RJD’s politics.
RJD review meeting today
RJD has convened a meeting of its newly elected MLAs and senior leaders on Monday to analyse its poll result. “The leaders will discuss party’s poor performance in polls,” said RJD’s Chitranjan Gagan.