New Delhi: A day after the RJD’s crushing defeat within the Bihar meeting polls, Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya, who donated her kidney to her father a number of years in the past, introduced on social media that she is “quitting politics and disowning my household”. Considerably, she alleged that her brother Tejashwi Yadav’s shut aide, Sanjay Yadav, had requested her to take the step.

Sanjay, a Rajya Sabha member and Tejashwi’s key political adviser, has been within the highlight for the reason that begin of the election season and after the RJD’s drubbing, criticism in opposition to him has solely intensified. Beforehand, Lalu’s eldest daughter and elder son had spoken in opposition to him.

He additionally appeared to have been focused by the political outfit of Lalu’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav a number of hours after the election outcomes Friday.

The Janshakti Janata Dal on Fb accused a “Jaichand” of ruining the RJD, a comment seen as geared toward Sanjay. Jaichand was a Twelfth-century ruler of the Kannauj kingdom who’s infamously remembered in in style lore as a “traitor.”

A number of RJD leaders advised ThePrint that Sanjay has through the years develop into so near Tejashwi that the majority main political selections are taken solely after his recommendation. Within the Bihar polls, Sanjay is alleged to have performed a key position in candidate choice in addition to shaping RJD’s marketing campaign technique that collapsed so badly.

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Voices in opposition to Sanjay

Simply earlier than the meeting polls, when the RJD eliminated Tej Pratap Yadav from the social gathering, he had accused a “Jaichand” for his ouster, a dig seen as directed at Sanjay.

Lalu’s eldest daughter and Pataliputra Lok Sabha MP Misa Bharti had additionally spoken in opposition to his nomination to the Rajya Sabha in 2024.

Rohini beforehand too expressed her displeasure at Sanjay’s rising affect by sharing a essential publish on X and later unfollowed Tejashwi and Lalu. She wrote that she had no need to contest the meeting election and get a Rajya Sabha seat, whereas attacking social gathering trolls for defaming her.

Throughout final month’s ticket distribution, RJD chief Madan Shah had levelled severe allegations in opposition to Sanjay, accusing him of taking a big sum of cash for an meeting ballot ticket. On the residence of former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, Shah apparently tried to confront the scenario throughout Sanjay’s go to to the premises. Shah ran after his car however safety personnel stopped him from getting into and escorted him away.

Shah then broke down outdoors the home, within the presence of media personnel. He started crying loudly, tearing his kurta and rolling on the bottom in frustration. Amid his outburst, he repeatedly shouted: “I’ve been cheated, the ticket has been offered”. He instantly accused Sanjay of “promoting” the ticket.

Chatting with ThePrint, a former RJD MLA stated: “You possibly can think about the extent of Sanjay’s interference within the social gathering as even essential social media posts want his approval. He even decides whom Tejashwi ought to give interviews to. He has a say in ticket distribution. In Hindi, we name it andh vishwas (blind religion). That’s the type of belief Tejashwi has in Sanjay.”

On the day of the ballot outcomes, a video was circulating on social media that confirmed Sanjay asking Tejashwi at an occasion: “Will you invite BJP leaders to your oath-taking ceremony?”

A number of RJD supporters are sharing the clip to focus on what they name Sanjay’s overconfidence earlier than the elections.

Haryana man operating Bihar present

Although Sanjay manages the RJD’s political affairs in Bihar, he himself hails from Haryana.

In response to social gathering insiders, Sanjay first met Tejashwi years in the past, in 2010, when the latter was making an attempt to make it into the Delhi Daredevils cricket crew. Many in RJD imagine that after framing of fees in opposition to Lalu within the fodder rip-off in 2012, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav launched Sanjay to Tejashwi at an occasion, and the 2 subsequently obtained nearer.

Sanjay give up his job in Delhi and moved to Patna to work with Tejashwi. He began by dealing with RJD’s social media, however inside a number of years, grew to become Tejashwi’s fundamental political strategist and adviser. Tejashwi has even known as him his “thinker, information and tuition instructor”.

Sanjay’s position grew in the course of the 2015 meeting election, when the RJD shaped an alliance with the JD(U). Whereas ballot strategist Prashant Kishor obtained many of the public credit score, social gathering insiders say Sanjay suggested Tejashwi to offer extra tickets to higher caste candidates to widen the RJD’s help base. The technique labored, and RJD grew to become the biggest social gathering in Bihar with 80 seats that election.

When RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat steered reviewing reservations in the identical election season, Sanjay suggested Lalu to strongly oppose the comment.

An RJD functionary stated: “Someday, Sanjay introduced a newspaper clipping to Laluji displaying Mohan Bhagwat’s assertion. It was a information company report, I bear in mind, however Sanjay instantly noticed the chance to construct a story in opposition to the BJP. Lalu did so (oppose the concept of reviewing reservations) at each rally, which helped the RJD and damage the BJP’s marketing campaign. Then, Sanjay gained the belief of Lalu as properly.”

Within the 2020 meeting election, Sanjay crafted the RJD’s complete marketing campaign round unemployment and offered Tejashwi as a frontrunner who might carry change for Bihar’s youth. The promise of 10 lakh jobs gained public curiosity, forcing even CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar to later announce jobs for academics. The RJD once more grew to become the single-largest social gathering, and Sanjay was praised for energising the social gathering’s employees with a recent marketing campaign.

His affect continued within the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Tejashwi launched the Jan Biswas Yatra with the slogan ‘MY Baap’, standing for Muslims, Yadavs, Bahujan, higher castes, ladies and the poor, impressed by Akhilesh Yadav’s PDA (Pichhre, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) formulation.

Sanjay pushed the concept of increasing the RJD’s base by additionally bringing Kushwaha voters into the social gathering’s fold, which helped the social gathering dent the NDA in a minimum of 4 seats.

He’s seen as Tejashwi’s closest aide, however many throughout the social gathering accuse him of making divisions and sidelining senior leaders. Some RJD members even mockingly name him a “gatekeeper”, somebody who decides who can meet Tejashwi and who will get an election ticket. They declare Tejashwi doesn’t take any main selections with out consulting him.

As a substitute of sending a senior chief, Tejashwi selected Sanjay for a Rajya Sabha seat in 2024, a transfer that additionally upset many within the social gathering. Now, after the RJD’s poor efficiency within the meeting polls, no surprises that Sanjay is beneath hearth from all sides.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

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