Tej Pratap Yadav eyes comeback: How forsaken RJD scion could hit Lalu-Tejashwi where it hurts the most

Tej Pratap Yadav was expelled from the RJD and was disowned by the Lalu family earlier this year.

Expelled from both his family and party by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav is learnt to be plotting a defiant political comeback. The estranged elder son of Lalu Prasad had recently taken to social media to make his relationship with Anushka Yadav public — a revelation that triggered political tremors in Bihar and led to his expulsion from both the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Yadav household.

The fallout, nevertheless, has failed to deter the spirits of the controversial leader, who has now launched 'Team Tej Pratap', a new political outfit under his personal banner and declared that he will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. While he is yet to confirm a seat or party symbol, political circles in the poll-bound state are abuzz with the likelihood of him contesting from the Mahua Assembly seat in Vaishali district.

Why Mahua is back in focus

Much before the controversy surrounding Tej Pratap's secret relationship surfaced, reports had it that Tej Pratap was keen to contest from the Mahua seat in the 2020 Assembly elections as well. His wish, however, was turned down by the RJD which chose to field him from Hasanpur. With Bihar elections around the corner again, Tej Pratap has begun to make political rounds — both symbolic and strategic.

A self-professed Shiv-bhakt, Tej Pratap visited Hasanpur on the first Monday of the holy month of Sawan "to hear the people’s concerns". Asked if he would contest from Hasanpur again or shift to Mahua, Tej Pratap remained evasive. "Nothing is decided yet. I will go wherever the people call me," he told reporters.

It is no secret though that Mahua remains Tej Pratap's first choice. He had already made a stop in Mahua — where he began his political career in 2015 — before he visited Hasanpur. During his visit, Tej Pratap reminded locals of the promises he made during his first term and claimed credit for a medical college that came up in the constituency.

"We fulfil our promises. The medical college is now a reality. I've come to inspect it — and now, we'll work to bring an engineering college here too," he said.

Tej Pratap had already hinted at contesting from Mahua back in December 2024 with his renewed presence only fuelling the speculation. Reports of a verbal clash between Tej Pratap and incumbent RJD MLA Mukesh Roshan also surfaced last year when the former was still with the party.

Observers view Tej Pratap’s renewed visits and revival of past promises as a clear sign that he is preparing to contest from Mahua — perhaps as an Independent or under a new banner.

Mahua's caste arithmetic

Located in the Vaishali district of Bihar, the Mahua Assembly constituency has a significant presence of RJD's core vote base — with an estimated 35 percent population from the Muslim-Yadav communities. Additionally, Scheduled Castes, primarily comprising the Paswan and Ravidas communities, make up around 21 percent of the local population.

If Tej Pratap contests independently or under a different party, it could split the RJD vote bank, especially among the Muslim-Yadav and Dalit electorate. That, in turn, could weaken the RJD's prospects in one of its strongholds.

With no party backing and little time to spare, Tej Pratap Yadav is banking on his personal connect in Mahua to script a political resurgence that could potentially disrupt RJD's caste coalition in Bihar's heartland in an election that could well go down to the wire.