“Better to Die Than Return to RJD”: Tej Pratap Yadav

GG News Bureau
Patna, 25th Oct: As Bihar’s election campaign reaches its peak, political temperatures soared after former minister Tej Pratap Yadav, elder son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, declared that he would “choose death over returning to RJD.” In an interview with PTI, the maverick leader accused his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav of relying solely on their father’s shadow, challenging him to contest elections “without Lalu Yadav’s support.”

Expelled from RJD months ago, Tej Pratap has floated his own outfit — the Jan Shakti Janata Dal (JJD) — and fielded 40 candidates across Bihar. He is contesting from Mahua, the same seat he first won in 2015.

“I am not hungry for power. For me, principles and self-respect come first,” he said, stressing that his only aim is to serve the people sincerely. “I will never return to RJD. People trust and love me because I stood by them when others didn’t.”

The maverick leader also dismissed any major challenge from the current RJD MLA Mukesh Roshan, a close aide of Tejashwi Yadav. “People of Mahua say that during my tenure their issues were heard. Now no one listens to them,” he remarked.

Tej Pratap also drew an emotional connection to his late grandmother Marichia Devi, carrying her photograph during his nomination. “It was her blessings that helped my father rise in politics. I know my parents’ blessings are with me even if we haven’t spoken for some time,” he said.

Despite his fiery remarks, Tej Pratap maintained that his affection for his younger brother remains intact. “Tejashwi is my younger brother; my blessings will always be with him. I won’t raise a Sudarshan Chakra against him,” he quipped, in a statement blending familial emotion with political defiance.

As Bihar braces for a fiercely contested poll, Tej Pratap’s outburst has once again exposed the deep cracks within the Lalu family, turning the political battleground into a family feud played out in full public view.