The 'unprodigal' son: How Tej Pratap Yadav's self-styled kingdom came undone

Tej Pratap Yadav had reconciled to younger brother Tejashwi Yadav emerging as the heir apparent to Lalu's political legacy. (File/PTI)

It took RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav less than 24 hours to disown his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav and expel him from the party after photos and videos claiming the latter's secret relationship with a woman emerged on social media.

"Ignoring moral values in personal life weakens our collective struggle for social justice. My eldest son’s activities, public conduct, and irresponsible behaviour are not in accordance with our family values and traditions," Lalu, the former Bihar Chief Minister wrote in a post on X announcing the decision.

"Due to the current circumstances, I am removing him from the party and family. From now on, he will not have any role of any kind in the party and family. He is expelled from the party for six years," he said with a warning that all those who maintain relations with Tej Pratap should do so "at their own discretion".

The trigger

The immediate trigger behind the RJD chief’s surprising decision came a day after a post was shared on Tej Pratap’s Facebook profile that showed him with a woman. The caption claimed the two had been in a relationship for 12 years.

The post was later deleted, and Tej Pratap claimed that his profile had been hacked and advised his followers to desist from falling for rumours. "My social media platforms have been hacked and my pictures are being wrongly edited to harass and defame me and my family members. I appeal to my well-wishers and followers to be cautious and ignore rumours," he wrote on X.

No political capital, but...

RJD insiders reveal that Lalu's decision was guided by an understanding that Tej Pratap could dent the party's image, and Tejashwi's rise, despite lacking any political capital. Leaders in the RJD believe that he could further embarrass the party by joining the JD(U) or BJP who could use him to rile the RJD.

Over the years, Tej Pratap, the elder brother of Tejashwi Yadav, the heir apparent to Lalu's political legacy, has reconciled to being the lesser favoured child among the two. However, RJD insiders have often spoken about how Tej Pratap could never completely rid himself of his insecurities in view of his brother Tejashwi's steady rise within the party over the past decade or so.

It was only in 2015 that Tej Pratap made his political ambitions known publicly when he threatened to rebel against his father if he did not get a good ministry. The RJD had returned to power in alliance with the JD(U) after a decade-long hiatus and Lalu obliged by handing him the Health portfolio.

However, his antics and a knack for controversies over the years continued to embarrass the party on a number of occasions. From riding a horse to his official bungalow as Health minister in 2015 to taking a bicycle ride to the secretariat in 2023, claiming that he took inspiration from a dream he had of late SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav as Environment minister, Tej Pratap's desperation for attention was palpable.

Tej Pratap often posted images and videos of him engrossed praying to Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva — evoking mirth and ridicule in equal measure — but the family stood by him.

Controversy's favourite child

Long before the current controversy over his alleged relationship surfaced, Tej Pratap had been a subject of embarrassment for the most influential political family in the state. His marriage to Aishwarya Rai, the granddaughter of another former Bihar CM Daroga Prasad Rai in 2018 is the most recent in public memory.

Tej Pratap and Aishwarya filed for divorce barely months after their marriage and the proceedings are still underway at a family court in Patna. Aishwarya has claimed that she was tortured and harassed by her husband and in-laws and revealed details that left the family embarrassed.

Tej Pratap had then claimed to release "countless video clips and other evidence to prove the physical and verbal abuse suffered by me, my parents and my siblings". As per sources in the know, we may not have seen the last of this controversy yet.

In March this year, he triggered a controversy when he was caught on camera asking a police constable in uniform to do a “thumka” on a song or “face suspension” during a Holi celebration event. The constable obliged and was later removed from Tej Pratap’s security detail.

Political one-upmanship

While the family chose to ignore his antics and utterances even when he directly took on senior leaders within his own party, including those seen close to his father. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, for instance, Tej Pratap turned rebel and fielded three supporters as Independents and later formed the Lalu Rabri Morcha to register his defiance. He was later forced to be content with Tejashwi as the no-1 in the party and being relegated to the third spot after senior party leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui.

In 2020, Tej Pratap created a huge drama over demands that his supporters be given tickets to contest the Bihar Assembly elections. The family rushed to his residence -- he chose to stay at another bungalow away from his family -- and he was later seen seated with his brother on stage during seat-sharing announcements.

In 2021, Tej Pratap opened a front against senior leader and party's Bihar unit president Jagdanand Singh over the latter's decision to sack Akash Yadav as the president of the party's youth wing. Akash Yadav was replaced by Gagan Yadav, a leader seen close to Tejashwi, leaving Tej Pratap peeved.

The situation was eventually resolved through the intervention of seniors in the Yadav family. Notably, Anushka Yadav, the girl purportedly seen in videos along with Tej Pratap, is said to be the sister of Akash Yadav, the former youth wing president of the RJD.