The Bihar Assembly election has become a battle within the Yadav family, with former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's sons contesting from opposing sides. RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav removed his eldest son, Tej Pratap Yadav, from the party for six years, citing "irresponsible behavior" and failure to uphold party and family values.
This action followed a controversial Facebook post in which Tej Pratap spoke about his relationship with Anushka Yadav. Tej Pratap later claimed that his account was hacked and the photos were edited to defame him and his family.
After being expelled, Tej Pratap Yadav launched his own political party, Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD), on August 5, allying with five smaller Bihar parties: Vanchit Vikaas Insaan Party, Bhojpuriya Jan Morcha, Pragatisheel Janata Party, Wajib Adhikar Party, and Sanyukt Kisan Vikas Party.
Counting from Mahua (3rd round) reveals a significant gap: LJP (Ram Vilas) candidate Sanjay Kumar Singh leads with 10,301 votes; JJD's Tej Pratap Yadav lags at 1,500 votes; while RJD's Mukesh Roshan has 6,781 votes. Tej Pratap trails the LJP candidate by nearly 9,000 votes.
In contrast, Tejashwi Yadav, the younger brother and chief ministerial candidate of Mahagathbandhan, leads by a narrow margin of 893 votes. This divergence contrasts sharply with 2020, when Tej Pratap won Hasanpur as an RJD candidate by over 20,000 votes.
This election paints a tale of two brothers: one attempting to establish a new political identity after party expulsion, the other maintaining the opposition alliance's leadership.