Patna: The elevation of RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s younger son, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, as the party’s national working president on Sunday was overshadowed by visible signs of internal discord. While party workers celebrated the development, sharp criticism from within the family cast a shadow over the occasion.Tejashwi’s sister, Rohini Acharya, launched a scathing attack on him soon after his appointment, adding an element of bitterness to the event. In a veiled swipe, she referred to him as a “puppet of infiltrator gang” moments after the announcement at a city hotel, where almost all senior party leaders were present, including Rabri Devi, Mangani Lal Mandal, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, Bhola Yadav and party spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan.
“Congratulations to ‘katputli bane shehzada (prince-turned-puppet)’ of an ‘infiltrator gang’,” Rohini posted on X, mocking her brother’s elevation. Even ahead of his appointment, she had alleged that control of the party had slipped into the “hands of infiltrators and conspirators whose sole objective is to destroy Laluism”.Tejashwi’s elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, echoed her remarks. “Whatever she has written is 100% correct,” he told reporters on Sunday.In contrast, RJD MP and Lalu’s elder daughter, Misa Bharti, struck a conciliatory note and extended her best wishes to Tejashwi. “The executive committee held a meeting today and Tejashwi was appointed as the working president. We extend our best wishes to Tejashwi from the party,” she said.The development also drew sharp reactions from NDA leaders, who said Tejashwi’s elevation reflected Lalu Prasad’s attempt to preserve his family’s political legacy and ensure the party’s survival.Senior BJP leader and union minister Nityanand Rai said the Lalu family had operated on the principle of “family first” in Bihar for three decades. “While Tejashwi has now been formally appointed as the party’s working national president, he has been effectively running and controlling the party for years,” he said.BJP OBC Morcha national general secretary Nikhil Anand said the RJD had lost its relevance after the Bihar assembly election and was now witnessing internal bickering. “During the Bihar assembly election, we all saw that Tejashwi removed Lalu ji and Rabri ji from the posters and forced them to sit at home. Tejashwi even strategically planned the eviction of Tej Pratap and Rohini Acharya to dominate the party and family system. Under his pressure, the Lalu family decided to make him the national working president,” he said.LJP(RV) chief and union minister Chirag Paswan said Tejashwi being given such a senior position despite what he described as a devastating electoral performance showed that the RJD was limited to one family.HAM(S) founder and union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said it was an internal matter of the RJD, but added that he believed the party would never be able to move forward.Reacting to the elevation, JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar said dynastic politics continued to dominate the RJD. “Many prominent faces from the Dalit, Muslim, OBC and EBC categories are in the RJD. Ignoring everyone else, Tejashwi, who is accused in 22 cases, is being given his father’s position. Even the daughter of the family has objected to this. Despite having faces like Uday Narayan Chaudhary, Shivchandra Ram, Alok Mehta, Ramchandra Purve and Abdul Bari Siddiqui in the party, Lalu made Tejashwi the national acting president,” he said.
