Expelled RJD leader to contest Mahua (Vaishali) on JJD ticket, returning to 2015 win seat; vows district upgrade, medical/engineering expansions amid rift with brother Tejashwi.
21 candidates announced October 13, targeting Yadav/backward belts; alliances with VVIP, BJM; more lists pending, open to RJD-Congress but rejects NDA.
Potential vote splitter in INDIA vs. NDA battle; polls November 6/11, results 14th; RJD holds incumbent, BJP hails family discord as NDA boon.
Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) founder Tej Pratap Yadav announced on Monday his candidacy for the Mahua assembly constituency, capping the party's release of its inaugural list of 21 candidates for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. The move, disclosed during a press conference in Patna by JJD state president Madan Yadav, positions the former RJD heavyweight—expelled from his family party earlier this year—as the standard-bearer for his nascent outfit, signaling an audacious bid to reclaim his 2015 bastion while hinting at broader alliances with disaffected regional players.
Tej Pratap, the elder son of RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav, has endured a tumultuous year marked by his May expulsion from the RJD and familial estrangement following a controversial Facebook post about a purported 12-year relationship, which reignited scrutiny over his annulled marriage to Aishwarya Rai. Undeterred, he founded the JJD in July, rebranding his "Team Tej Pratap" supporters and forging ties with five smaller parties, including the Vanchit Vikas Insaan Party (VVIP) and Bhojpuriya Jan Morcha (BJM). "Mahua is my karmabhoomi; I've built a medical college, engineering college, and roads here as Health Minister. Now, we'll elevate it to district status," Tej Pratap declared, underscoring his development pitch while jibing at incumbent RJD MLA Mukesh Kumar Roshan for "neglect." His nomination filing is slated for October 16, setting up a direct intra-family showdown as the RJD eyes retaining the seat for Roshan.
The announcement has roiled Bihar's polarized landscape, with the RJD dismissing Tej Pratap as a "spoiler" and Lalu's camp stonewalling reconciliation overtures. Tejashwi, the RJD's poll face and chief ministerial aspirant, has publicly lamented the rift but focused on countering NDA's "negative politics," amid ongoing voter list revisions that opposition alleges disenfranchise minorities. The BJP, sensing opportunity, has mocked the "Yadav family circus," with leaders like Samrat Choudhary predicting JJD's quick fade-out. Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar's JD(U) eyes consolidation in Seemanchal and Magadh, where JJD forays might dilute anti-incumbency against the NDA.
