‘Thrown out, abused, even hit’: What Rohini Acharya said following her shock ‘quit politics’ post

A day after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) suffered a major defeat in the Bihar assembly elections, party chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya on Saturday announced that she was quitting both politics and her family.

In an unexpected post on X, Acharya blamed her decision on Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Yadav and Rameez, both seen as close aides of Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav.

“I am quitting politics and I am disowning my family… This is what Sanjay Yadav and Rameez had asked me to do, and I am taking all the blame,” she wrote.

RJD insiders told HT they were unsure of what triggered Acharya’s message but pointed to her tense exchange with Sanjay Yadav during the run-up to the polls. They suggested that the party’s poor performance and growing internal rifts within the Yadav family may have played a role.

Earlier, Lalu Prasad’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav was expelled from both the party and the family over a personal controversy.

‘Insulted, hit with chappal’

Hours after her announcement, Acharya spoke to journalists at Patna airport before leaving for Delhi, alleging she had been pushed out by senior RJD figures.

“I don’t have a family. You should go and ask Tejashwi Yadav, Sanjay Yadav, and Rameez. They are the ones who threw me out,” she said.

“When you name Sanjay Yadav and Rameez, you are thrown out of the house, disgraced, abused, and even hit with a chappal,” ANI quoted her as saying.

Who are Sanjay Yadav and Rameez?

According to PTI, Sanjay Yadav, an RJD Rajya Sabha MP, is considered one of Tejashwi Yadav’s closest confidants.
Rameez Alam, meanwhile, is an old friend of Tejashwi’s and comes from a political family in Uttar Pradesh.

Past clashes

Acharya, who donated one of her kidneys to Lalu Prasad in 2022, had previously clashed with Sanjay Yadav over him occupying the front seat of a campaign vehicle during Tejashwi’s yatra ahead of the assembly elections, HT reported.

There has also been speculation that Acharya — who lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Saran — was frustrated at not being given a larger role in the party.

Sanjay Yadav has not publicly responded to her allegations.