Why Lalu Yadav’s Family Is Divided Over Sanjay Yadav’s Role in RJD

Back in 2015, just before the last phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, Sanjay Yadav brought Lalu Prasad a vital piece of information.
Sanjay, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s advisor, told the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief that RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat had talked about the need to review the reservation system. Bhagwat’s remarks had not been widely reported at the time and as he saw the news clipping, an elated Lalu said in Bhojpuri, “Badka mudda mil gel ba (We have got a big issue).”
The RJD-led Grand Alliance, or Mahagathbandhan, ran with the news, distributing pamphlets and campaigning extensively in the Seemanchal region that had yet to vote. Though the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance did its best to counter the Opposition alliance, it failed. On results day, the BJP found itself down from 91 to 53 seats as the Mahagathbandhan swept to power, winning 178 of 243 constituencies.
Though the success was largely down to long-time rivals Lalu and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joining hands to keep the BJP out of power in Bihar, the role played by Sanjay was acknowledged. He had helped give the Mahagathbandhan a push heading into the final phase. Tejashwi’s elevation to Deputy CM in that RJD-Janata Dal (United) administration made Sanjay Yadav one of the most important people in Bihar’s power corridors.
Since then, the 41-year-old’s stature in the party has only grown and is currently the source of the current tensions in the RJD’s first family. Lalu’s daughter Rohini Acharya recently shared on X a post taking a dig at her brother’s associate. After getting trolled online for her “political ambitions”, Rohini unfollowed both Lalu and Tejashwi, along with a host of other accounts.

Sanjay Yadav, who belongs to a political family in Haryana, was introduced to Tejashwi in 2012 by former Uttar Pradesh CM and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav. Both connected over a shared interest in politics and cricket. As Lalu’s court cases in the fodder scam dragged on and his arrest looked imminent, by 2013, Tejashwi decided to take the plunge into politics. He immediately turned to his friend, who holds a Master’s degree in computer science and business management and was working in a private firm at the time, and invited him to Patna. Sanjay readily agreed.
From 2013 to 2015, Sanjay remained in the shadows. To get Tejashwi battle-ready, he started with the RJD scion’s ideological and media training, making him read socialist literature and analyse video interviews of top leaders across the political spectrum. After that, he prepared the plan for Tejashwi’s first statewide yatra.
“From 2015 to 2022, it was a combination of the party’s national spokesperson Manoj Kumar Jha, now a second-time Rajya Sabha MP, and Sanjay Yadav, working perfectly for Tejashwi. While Jha was more of an ideologue, Sanjay looked after the Patna affairs of Tejashwi, who was either the Deputy CM or the Leader of Opposition during that period. Jha and Yadav were also instrumental in the RJD’s negotiations with Nitish Kumar in forming the government in August 2022,” said an RJD leader.
While Jha was renominated to the Rajya Sabha in February 2024, Sanjay Yadav was also rewarded with a seat in the Upper House. In Parliament, he has spoken on Lalu Prasad’s social justice credentials, and his office in Delhi also doubles up as Tejashwi’s workplace when he is in the city.

Rumblings of discontent

What raised Rohini’s hackles was a photo during Tejashwi’s recent Bihar Adhikar Yatra in which Sanjay Yadav was seen sitting in the front seat of the bus, a seat usually reserved for either her brother or father. The photo emphasised the MP’s influence in the party and did not sit well with Lalu Prasad’s daughter.
However, she faced criticism from her family for sharing the post critical of Sanjay Yadav and was told to “do damage control”, according to a party insider.
However, Rohini is not the first family member to question Sanjay Yadav’s clout. In the past, Tej Pratap Yadav, Lalu’s other son who is now estranged from the family, has spoken out against “Jaichands (traitors)”, the digs believed to have been directed at the MP. After Tej Pratap was expelled from the RJD in May, several party leaders privately blamed Sanjay Yadav for Tej Pratap’s marginalisation.
“But Tej Pratap’s words were seldom taken seriously. It is true that Sanjay wields immense power. Whether a party leader wants to meet Tejashwi or a mediaperson wishes to interview Tejashwi, all requests are routed through him. There is no other channel to meet the Leader of the Opposition,” said a party leader.
One of Sanjay Yadav’s critics in the party said Sanjay taking the front seat of the yatra bus was not a “casual act” and “shows how he has been crossing the line”.
The MP has not yet reacted to the bus episode and tried to defuse the tension by also getting Dalit leaders to take the front seat of the yatra bus.