Bihar Polls: Rohini Acharya says she is quitting politics, disowning family after RJD’s Bihar poll rout

New Delhi, Nov 15: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter, Rohini Acharya, on Saturday announced that she is quitting politics and severing ties with her family, a day after the party was routed in the Bihar assembly elections, winning just 25 seats, Hindustan Times reported.

In a post on X, Rohini said she was taking the step on the advice of Sanjay Yadav and Rameez. “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 wrote. Sanjay Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP from the RJD, is considered one of Tejashwi Yadav’s closest aides, while Rameez Alam is described as an old friend of the RJD leader from a political family in Uttar Pradesh.

Her announcement comes a day after the Mahagathbandhan suffered a heavy defeat to the JD(U)-BJP-led NDA. The setback follows internal turmoil within the Yadav family. Lalu Prasad had earlier expelled his elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav, from the party and the family after a controversial social media post. Tej Pratap later launched his own outfit, the Janshakti Janata Dal, and even fielded a candidate against Tejashwi Yadav in Raghopur, but failed to win any seat and lost himself from Mahua. Speculation had grown that Rohini, who contested and lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Saran, was unhappy over Tej Pratap’s expulsion, though she campaigned for Tejashwi during the assembly polls. A medical graduate living in Singapore with her family, Rohini remains a respected figure in RJD circles, especially after donating a kidney to her father.