Patna: The crisis engulfing the Lalu Prasad Yadav family widened sharply on Sunday as three of his daughters left the Patna residence soon after Rohini Acharya announced she was severing ties with the family and quitting politics. The developments come at a moment of political vulnerability for the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which has been grappling with a steep fall in its Bihar Assembly tally from 75 seats to only 25 and now finds itself overshadowed by an escalating domestic rift involving allegations, departures and political blame.
Rohini, a doctor who has long been regarded as a stabilising figure within the clan, set off the chain reaction with a series of emotional posts declaring that she had been “torn away from her family”, subjected to “filthy abuses”, and even confronted with a raised slipper during a dispute involving Sanjay Yadav, the party’s Rajya Sabha MP, and Rameez, a long-time associate of Tejashwi Yadav. Her announcement came the day after the RJD’s poor showing in the recent elections, in which the INDIA bloc projected Tejashwi as its chief ministerial candidate but saw the party slump to 25 seats in the 243-member assembly.
Within hours of her departure, Rajlakshmi, Ragini and Chanda left 10 Circular Road with their children and travelled to Delhi, according to sources familiar with the situation. They were said to be distressed by the upheaval triggered by Rohini’s accusations and her complete withdrawal from family and party affairs. Their exit leaves only Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi and Misa Bharti in the sprawling political home that once served as the nerve centre of the RJD. Rohini’s posts described what she said unfolded during a confrontation involving Tejashwi’s aides. She alleged that someone accused her of having “taken crores” after donating a kidney to Lalu Prasad during a transplant in Singapore several years ago. She wrote that she was told she had given her father a “dirty kidney” and had done so in exchange for money and a party ticket. “Yesterday, I was cursed at and told that I am dirty,” she said, adding that she had committed a “huge sin” by not taking permission from her husband and in-laws before the donation. In another entry, she said she was left “orphaned” after she walked out, leaving her “crying parents and sisters” behind.
She also targeted Sanjay Yadav and Rameez, accusing them of controlling access to Tejashwi and claiming they presented themselves as modern-day strategists while ignoring warnings from party workers. She repeated demands for accountability for the RJD’s election performance and accused the aides of pressuring her into taking responsibility for decisions she did not make. One post stated, “This is what Sanjay Yadav and Rameez asked me to do and I am taking all the blame.”
Her remarks included pointed advice directed at women. She wrote, “When there is a son in your maternal home, never, ever save your God-like father.” She urged daughters to focus on their own households and said, “May no household give birth to a girl with a fate like that of Rohini.”
While no member of Lalu Prasad’s family publicly responded to her accusations, reactions from outside the family began emerging. State minister Santosh Kumar Suman said he had been aware “for some time that all is not well in that family.” He added that what had been “just a smoke” had now “become a raging fire”. Suman, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, pointed to what he described as long-standing rivalries, citing previous conflicts involving Tej Pratap Yadav.
Tej Pratap, who was expelled from the RJD earlier this year after a controversial social media post and who now heads the Janshakti Janata Dal, reacted forcefully to Rohini’s claims. Posting through his party’s social media account, he said the episode had “shaken [his] heart to the core” and called the alleged humiliation of his sister “unbearable under any circumstances”. He warned of “harsh” consequences and appealed to his father, writing, “Father, give me a signal, just one nod, and the people of Bihar will bury these Jaichands.” His own removal from the RJD and subsequent electoral loss in Mahua, where he finished third, continues to influence the family dynamic.
Rohini’s references to Rameez also brought in political figures beyond Bihar. She shared a user’s post alleging that Rameez and his relative Rizwan Zaheer, a former Samajwadi Party MP from Balrampur, had murder cases against them, with Zaheer said to be lodged in jail. Neither Rameez nor Sanjay Yadav has commented on the allegations.
The tensions have renewed scrutiny of the broader Yadav family, one of Bihar’s most recognisable political households. Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi are parents to nine children, including seven daughters and two sons. Their daughters include Misa Bharti, Rohini Acharya, Chanda Singh, Ragini Yadav, Hema Yadav, Anushka Rao and Rajlakshmi Singh Yadav, each married into prominent families in politics, aviation and public life. Their sons, Tej Pratap and Tejashwi, remain key figures in state politics, although the latter’s leadership choices are now facing sharp internal criticism after the recent electoral setback.