Rohini Acharya claimed she was “thrown out of the family” and “disgraced, abused, and even hit” after raising concerns about RJD’s election loss and questioning Tejashwi Yadav’s aide Sanjay Yadav.
Her statements come amid RJD’s severe electoral setback in Bihar, where the Mahagathbandhan was swept aside by the NDA, which secured 202 seats in the 243-member Assembly.
Tejashwi Yadav and his close aide, RJD MP Sanjay Yadav, have “thrown” her out of the family, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Rohini Acharya alleged on Saturday, shortly after declaring that she would “quit politics” and “disown” her family.
Tejashwi’s sister alleged that she was “disgraced, abused, and even hit” after questioning Sanjay Yadav over the party’s loss in the Bihar Election which concluded on November 14.
"I have no family. You can go and ask this to Sanjay Yadav, Rameez, and Tejashwi Yadav. They are the ones who threw me out of the family," Acharya told reporters in her first reaction after her earlier ‘shocking’ announcement.
Accusing the party leadership of evading responsibility for the Bihar Assembly election loss, Acharya said that when she criticised Sanjay Yadav for the party’s poor performance, she was “thrown out of the house, disgraced, abused, and even hit."
"They don't want to take any responsibility... The whole nation is asking why the party failed like this. When you name Sanjay Yadav and Rameez, you are thrown out of the house, disgraced, abused, and even hit," she said.
RJD fared poorly in the polls, winning just 25 seats despite contesting more than 140 constituencies in the 243-member Assembly.
Earlier on Saturday, Acharya said she would “quit” politics and “disown” her family, taking all “blame” for the party’s performance.
"I'm quitting politics and I'm disowning my family ... This is what Sanjay Yadav and Rameez had asked me to do and I'm taking all the blame," she said.
Her announcement widens the existing rift within Lalu Prasad’s family. Her brother Tej Pratap Yadav was expelled from both the party and the family earlier this year following a controversy over his personal life.
Reacting to her decision, Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal said it was an “internal matter” and not appropriate to comment extensively. However, he urged the family to “not break apart due to one individual” and said Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi must act to preserve unity.
"This is an internal family matter… If the family is breaking up because of one individual, that is not appropriate…" he said, also noting that Rohini had donated a kidney to her father.
BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the situation indicated that RJD was disintegrating and that the signs were “not good”.
Earlier this year, Tej Pratap Yadav was expelled following controversy over a Facebook post in which he claimed to be in a relationship, triggering a public fallout. His past marital issues, including an ongoing divorce case with Aishwarya Rai, resurfaced in the ensuing discussions.
Tej Pratap later launched his own party, the Janshakti Janta Dal (JJD), and contested from Mahua, finishing a distant third. Sanjay Kumar Singh of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won by a margin of 44,997 votes, with RJD’s Mukesh Kumar Raushan in second place.
Rohini’s announcement comes a day after the RJD suffered a heavy defeat in the Bihar Assembly election. The NDA swept the polls with 202 seats — a three-fourths majority — with the BJP winning 89 and the JD(U) 85. Other allies also performed strongly: LJPRV won 19 seats, HAMS five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha four.
The Mahagathbandhan managed only 35 seats, with the RJD securing 25, Congress six, CPI(ML)(L) two, IIP one, and CPI(M) one. AIMIM won five seats and BSP one.
(reporting by ANI)
