Patna: A day after the RJD was drubbed in the Bihar assembly polls, party president Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya on Saturday blamed two close aides of her brother Tejashwi Yadav for the debacle.
Acharya, who had caused a flutter in the afternoon with a post on X, announcing that she was “quitting politics” and “disowning” her family, vented spleen before journalists at the airport here prior to boarding a flight for Delhi.
“I have no family. Do not ask me anything. Pose questions to Tejashwi Yadav, Sanjay Yadav, and Rameez. Somebody has to take responsibility,” snapped Acharya when she was asked about her post.
“I’m quitting politics and I’m disowning my family… This is what Sanjay Yadav and Rameez had asked me to do …nd I’m taking all the blame,” she said in a post on X.
According to political observers, Rohini’s post is being viewed as a pressure tactic after her brother, Tejashwi Yadav, did not immediately act against RJD rebel Sanjay Yadav and his aide Rameez Alam.
As per sources, she was among the first to publicly object when Sanjay was seen occupying Tejashwi’s seat in the ‘rath’ during the Tejashwi Yatra. Many within the party believe she felt Sanjay was increasingly controlling the narrative around Tejashwi.
Party sources said that so far, there is no indication that Lalu Prasad or Rabri Devi have pressured Tejashwi to take action against Sanjay Yadav. Rohini’s announcement of “disowning the family” is being interpreted as an emotional move aimed at pressurising her parents to intervene in the internal feud.
A medical graduate who chose to become a homemaker after marriage and settle down with her husband and children in Singapore, Rohini earned immense respect after donating a kidney to her father and remains an influential voice in the RJD camp.
Last year, she contested on an RJD ticket in the Saran Lok Sabha seat, which her father had represented years ago, but failed to wrest the constituency from BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a several-term MP.
Her remarks have exposed widening rifts within the Yadav family. Earlier this year, the former Chief Minister expelled his eldest son, Tej Pratap Yadav, from the RJD and family for six years after a social media post went viral. The post, containing a photograph of a woman named Anushka Yadav, claimed that Tej Pratap had been in a relationship with her for the past 12 years. The post created uproar in Bihar’s political circles, giving ammunition to rivals and deepening divisions within the RJD.
After his expulsion, the former minister launched a new political platform under the banner of ‘Team Tej Pratap Yadav’. He went on to form the Janshakti Janata Dal, which contested the election solo and also put up a candidate against Tejashwi from Raghopur. But the move failed to make any impact — the party drew a blank across the state, and Tej Pratap himself lost to Mahua.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising two main constituents — BJP and JD(U) –decimated the Mahagathbandhan, an alliance of Congress, RJD, and other parties, in Bihar on Friday to retain power.
With the final tally placing the NDA at 202 seats and the Opposition alliance reduced to just 34, the mandate stands out as one of the most emphatic the state has witnessed in more than a decade.
Within the ruling coalition, the BJP led the charge with 89 seats, followed closely by the JD(U) at 85. Strong performances by allies — LJP(RV) with 19 seats, HAM with 5, RLM with 4, along with several smaller partners — cemented the NDA’s dominance across the state.
In sharp contrast, the Mahagathbandhan crumbled under the wave. The RJD managed just 25 seats, the Congress collapsed to 6, and the Left parties together secured only 3. The BSP and IIP picked up one seat each.
A day after, RJD adopted a tone of resilience and humility. In a post on X, the party stated that public service is “an unceasing process, an endless journey,” adding that setbacks and successes are both natural parts of political life. Emphasising that there is “no sorrow in defeat and no arrogance in victory,” the RJD reaffirmed its commitment to representing the marginalised. It stressed that, as a party of the poor, it will continue to raise their concerns and fight for their rights.
