'Whatever is happening...': Lalu Yadav breaks silence on family feud after RJD's poll debacle

Breaking his silence on the family feud, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has said that he will “deal” with it, adding that it is an “internal family matter.” While holding a review meeting on RJD's poor performance in Bihar Assembly elections, Lalu said that the focus should not be his family but the people of Bihar. Though the meeting was not public, several RJD leaders quoted Lalu saying the above statement. Massive feud broke out in Lalu Yadav's family after Bihar poll debacle, with his daughter Rohini Acharaya accusing Tejashwi Yadav of harassing her and throwing her out of the house.

"This is an internal family matter and will be resolved within the family. I am there to deal with it," Lalu said at a meeting in Patna, according to RJD leaders. “Whatever is happening in the family, I am there to handle it… but as far as the party is concerned, Bihar is our family," he added.

Lalu family feud EXPLAINED

Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter, Rohini Acharya, on November 14, took to X and said that she is taking the blame for RJD's poor performance, as per the demands of brother Tejashwi Yadav and his aides Sanjay Yadav and Rameez. She also said that she is quitting politics and "disowning" her family. “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 wrote on X.

In another post on X on Nov 16, Rohini said that she was blamed for donating kidney to her father. It should be noted that Rohini Acharya donated a kidney to her father, in December 2022. She said that it was claimed that she took crores of rupees, and a promise of Lok Sabha ticket before donating kidney to her father. She also said that she was abused and beaten with slippers. She claimed that she was targeted because she did not compromise with her self-respect and followed the path of truth. She claimed that she was forced to leave her father's house, adding that she was tortured. Later on Nov 16, three other daughters of Lalu, Rajlakshmi, Ragini, and Chanda, left the family’s 10 Circular Road, Patna, residence with their children. PTI reported that Hema Yadav also headed to Delhi.

Meanwhile, Tej Pratap Yadav, who was expelled from the RJD ahead of the elections backed his sisters, and said, "As a woman, as a mother, as a sister, what she has done is commendable, and is rare,” he said. He added that Rohini was “correct in her place.”

Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD faced a poll debacle in Bihar Elections, with his party only winning 25 seats out of 143 seats contested. Tejashwi Yadav managed to win his seat Raghopur in a nail-biting contest, while his brother Tej Paratp lost his seat in Mahua (though he contested against RJD candidate). Mahagathbandhan had projected Tejashwi as the CM-face in Bihar. However, despite the massive family feud, Tejashwi was chosen leader of Opposition at a meeting by RJD legislators and leaders, including sister Misa Bharti.

Who are Tejashwi's aides at the centre of family feud?

Sanjay Yadav, originally from Haryana and an MBA graduate, joined Lalu's party in 2012 and gradually became part of Tejashwi’s core inner circle. He has become the focal point of the family feud, with both Rohini Acharya and Tej Pratap Yadav blaming him for the party’s electoral setbacks and the growing tensions within the Yadav family. Sanjay Yadav is said to have advised Tejashwi in his speeches, campaigns, and organisational decisions. His importance grew to the point that the RJD nominated him to the Rajya Sabha in 2024. Another aide, Rameez—of exerting undue pressure, sidelining senior family members, and contributing to the party’s election setbacks. Sanjay has also faced scrutiny in the past, including questioning by the CBI in the land-for-jobs case. His presence in Tejashwi's political machinery is now seen as both a strategic strength and a major source of internal conflict within the Yadav family.