Lalu's daughter Rohini quits politics, says 'I'm disowning my family'

RJD received a drubbing during the Bihar Assembly elections, with the party only clocking 25 seats

Rohini Acharya, daughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Saturday announced that she is quitting politics and disowning her family. Her announcement came a day after the Rashtriya Janata Dal, founded by Lalu Prasad Yadav, received a drubbing in the Bihar Assembly elections and secured only 25 seats.

 

“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 said in a post on X.

   

Later at the Patna airport, she told reporters, "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 of the family. They do not want to take any responsibility… The whole nation is asking why the party failed like this. When you take the names of Sanjay Yadav and Rameez, you are thrown out of the house, disgraced, and abused."  Earlier, Lalu Prasad Yadav ended all family ties with his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav and expelled him from the party, citing “irresponsible behaviour”.

 

The RJD, which had emerged as the single largest party in the 2015 and 2020 Assembly elections, faced a major setback this time and was restricted to just 25 seats. The Congress won six seats, while the Left parties — the CPI(ML) Liberation and the CPI(M) — secured three seats together. In total, the Grand Alliance won only 34 seats.

 

On the other hand, the NDA crossed the 200-seat mark, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United) winning 89 and 85 seats, respectively. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha secured 19, five and four seats, respectively.

 

Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which many had dubbed an “X factor” in the polls, failed to make an impact and did not win any seat in the two-phase election held on November 6 and 11.