(Image source from: News18.com)
The point of no return for Rohini Acharya, the child of RJD leader Lalu Yadav, was reached while looking over the party's poor results in the Bihar election, according to sources. Her brother, Tejashwi Yadav, said something during the meeting that struck her deeply, prompting her to declare the next day that she was leaving politics and distancing herself from her family. The Yadav siblings and other leaders from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had this review meeting the day after the election results, which showed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won easily. During that gathering, Tejashwi Yadav and Rohini Acharya ended up in a heated dispute, as per sources. She suggested that they take action regarding protests from RJD supporters against RJD MP Sanjay Yadav, an idea that her brother did not appreciate.
Sources indicated that Tejashwi Yadav accused his sister, saying, "We lost the election because of you. You have brought us bad luck." He allegedly hurled a slipper at her and insulted her, according to sources. Rohini Acharya claimed on Saturday that Sanjay Yadav and Rameez Nemat Khan, a friend of her brother from his cricket days, were the ones who drove her away from the party.
"This is what Sanjay Yadav asked me to do," Acharya, who provided a kidney to her father, mentioned. Prior to the election, Tejashwi Yadav had invited his sister to return from Singapore, where she was living with her husband and kids, to support the RJD campaign, as per sources. He encouraged Rohini Acharya to campaign in Raghopur, a district once represented by their parents Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi, where he planned to run for office—much to the displeasure of his estranged brother Tej Pratap Yadav. Rohini Acharya wished to campaign throughout every assembly area in Saran district to project unity, but her brother limited her to only Raghopur, according to sources. The current situation has been building up for some time, as sources point out various tensions between the siblings in recent years as signs of what was to come. In July 2023, a year prior to the Lok Sabha election, Tejashwi Yadav asked Rohini Acharya to run for office in Saran, a request she said she would only consider if their father permitted it. Lalu Yadav then approved her candidacy, but Rohini wanted to run from the Pataliputra constituency instead of Saran.
Their sibling, Misa Bharti, was not in favor of Rohini Acharya's idea, leading Lalu Yadav's daughter, who had recently come back from Singapore to support her brother's campaign in the country's heartland, to agree to run for election in Saran. It was clear she was not enthusiastic about it. She ultimately lost the election to Rajiv Pratap Rudy from the BJP. According to sources, the Yadav family's relationships did not have serious issues until about a year and a half before the 2024 general elections. Tensions began to grow when Sanjay Yadav expressed his concerns that Rohini Acharya could pose a danger to Tejashwi Yadav's political future.
Sanjay Yadav repeatedly suggested, even going as far as insulting her, that she should quit politics and go back to her life in Singapore, as per sources.
According to sources familiar with Rohini Acharya's situation, certain individuals within the party attempted to undermine her campaign in Saran. One of the plotters, who wanted to run in Saran, has a close relationship with the Yadav family. Another challenge for Rohini Acharya occurred when two MLAs, who never missed a chance to remind her of her past defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, were given RJD tickets for the assembly election. Rameez Nemat Khan, whom Rohini Acharya accused of being a reason for her departure from the family and party, is a long-time friend of Tejashwi Yadav and part of his main team. Their bond goes from the cricket field into the political arena. RJD sources mentioned that Khan manages his friend's social media and campaign teams for the party.
