Tej Pratap Yadav roasts Rahul Gandhi's fishing expedition in poll-bound Bihar: 'Should have become a cook'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during an interaction with fishermen, in Begusarai, Bihar. (PTI)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should have become a rasoiya (cook) instead of opting for politics as a career, Janshakti Janata Dal chief and Lalu Prasad Yadav's estranged son Tej Pratap Yadav said on Monday.

He was referring to the Lok Sabha LoP's participation in a traditional fishing process that saw him jump into a pond with local fishermen on the campaign trail in Bihar's Begusarai on Sunday.

A video of Gandhi's fishing activity surfaced online, showing the Rae Bareli MP clad in his trademark white t-shirt and black pants pulling a blue net out of the water alongside several locals amid slogans of "Rahul Gandhi zindabad".

"Rahul Gandhi's job is to ride a motorcycle and spread pollution. He'll spend his entire life fishing while the country will plunge into darkness...'Jalebi chhan'na, machli pakadna, unko toh rasoiya hona chaiye tha' (making jalebis, catching fish, he should have become a cook). Why did he become a politician?" Tej Pratap wondered.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: Janshakti Janata Dal chief Tej Pratap Yadav says, "Rahul Gandhi's job is to ride a motorcycle and spread pollution. He'll spend his entire life fishing. The country will be plunged into darkness... 'Jalebi chhan'na, machli pakadna, unko toh rasoiya hona… pic.twitter.com/wc8NyNVvlM

— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2025

The Bharatiya Janata Party also took a swipe at Rahul's poll act and said the number of votes that the Congress secures in Bihgar would be even fewer than the number of fish the party's leader managed to catch.

"The number of votes he’ll get will be fewer than the number of fish he caught. His swimming style was good - he’s catching fish, and we’re catching votes," BJP MP Ravi Kishan said.

Rahul Gandhi's adventure break in the midst of his campaign for Bihar elections came as the Congress hopes to improve its strike rate in the state where it delivered a forgettable performance in the 2020 elections.

Of the 70 seats the party had contested as part of the Mahagathbandhan, the Congress could only manage to win 19, the worst in terms of strike rate among all Mahagathbandhan constituents.

This time around, the Congress is contesting 61 seats, nine less than the number it contested in 2020. However, the party has ended up contesting against its own alliance partners like the RJD and CPI in several assembly segments, including Vaishali, Lalganj, Kahalgaon, Rajapakad, Bachwara and Rosera.

Polling for the Bihar elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11 while the results will be declared on November 14.