'Ask Tejashwi, Sanjay Yadav...': Rohini Acharya quits politics, disowns family after RJD's Bihar rout

A day after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) suffered a crushing defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections, party president Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya announced that she was quitting politics and "disowning" her family. Her statement has triggered fresh turmoil within the party, already reeling from one of its worst poll performances.

"I have no family. Do not ask me anything. Pose questions to Tejashwi Yadav, Sanjay Yadav, and Rameez. Somebody has to take responsibility," Acharya told reporters at the Patna airport on Saturday before boarding a flight to Delhi.

Earlier in the day, she had posted on X: "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."

Acharya, a doctor by qualification, settled in Singapore with her husband after marriage. She came into the political spotlight for donating a kidney to her father, Lalu Prasad, a few years ago. She contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Saran but lost to the BJP's Rajeev Pratap Rudy.

Her remarks on Saturday were aimed at two close aides of her brother Tejashwi Yadav — Sanjay Yadav, RJD Rajya Sabha MP and Tejashwi's long-time political adviser, and Rameez, a friend of Tejashwi’s from a political family in Uttar Pradesh. It was unclear what led to her outburst.

In her brief interaction with journalists, Rohini further said, "As a dedicated party worker, I am questioning the role of Sanjay and Rameez who pose as Chanakyas. But, if you even utter their name, you end up being insulted and have slippers thrown at you."

Her outburst comes amid widespread speculation that she was unhappy with Tej Pratap Yadav's expulsion from the party earlier this year. Tej Pratap, Lalu’s elder son, was removed from the RJD after declaring his relationship with Anushka Yadav, sparking a family feud that spilled into the public domain.

Despite earlier tensions, Rohini had joined Tejashwi’s campaign ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections. The RJD, however, suffered a massive setback — its tally fell from 75 seats in 2020 to just 25. The Mahagathbandhan, led by Tejashwi Yadav, crashed to 28 seats overall, down from 110 last time.

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) — consisting of the BJP, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), and Chirag Paswan’s LJP — secured a landslide victory, with the BJP alone winning 89 seats and JD(U) 85, taking the NDA total beyond 200 seats.