Bihar Election 2025: Why Is Tej Pratap Yadav Returning To Mahua From Hasanpur
Tej Pratap Yadav has promised social justice and structural change in Bihar and has tried to cultivate support from the youth.
Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, will contest the assembly elections from Mahua in Vaishali district.
The 37-year-old has decided to return to a seat where he registered his first election victory in 2015. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly election, he contested and won the Hasanpur constituency as a Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate.
A former minister in the state government, Tej Pratap Yadav floated the Janshakti Janta Dal after his father expelled him from the RJD in May.
This week, the JJD announced candidates for 21 seats across Bihar.
Tej Pratap Yadav leads a roadshow in Mahua. (Image: X profile)
Why Was Tej Pratap Expelled?
Tej Pratap Yadav was expelled from the RJD for six years, after he 'confessed' on social media to being 'in a relationship' with a woman named Anushka. He, however, deleted the post later, claiming that his account was 'hacked'.
Lalu Prasad distanced Tej Pratap from the family and the party, citing "irresponsible behaviour" and "deviation from the family’s moral values".
A few days after his expulsion, Yadav had alleged that there was a 'conspiracy' to drive a wedge between him and his younger brother, Tejashwi Yadav.
Tejashwi is being projected as the Chief Ministerial face of the RJD and the heir to Lalu Yadav's political legacy.
The two brothers are among the four of the nine siblings active in politics. The familial bond, often a source of strength, can turn into a potential fracture line.
In a political landscape where perception is as pivotal as reality, the whispers of dissent within the Yadav clan could prove detrimental, casting doubt on Tejashwi's leadership.
Political Moves
After his expulsion, Tej Pratap Yadav floated the JJD in August and the party was officially registered in September. The party's election symbol is a blackboard, reflecting the party's emphasis on education and social reform.
He has promised social justice and structural change in Bihar and has tried to cultivate support from the youth. He also signalled a symbolic break from the RJD by swapping his signature green Gandhi cap, a symbol of his former party, for a yellow one.
Tej Pratap Yadav formed a coalition with five regional parties. (Image: X profile)
The young leader has also formed a coalition with five regional parties, including the Vanchit Vikaas Insaan Party (VVIP) and the Bhojpuriya Jan Morcha (BJM), to strengthen his political influence in Bihar.
When asked about who would become the next Chief Minister during a recent media interaction, Tej Pratap replied, "Whoever will be Bihar’s CM will be decided by the people."
"We are fully dedicated and committed to the comprehensive development of Bihar. Our goal is to bring about complete transformation and establish a new order,” Yadav said in a social media post.
Taking aim at Mahua’s current RJD MLA, Mukesh Raushan, Tej Pratap had remarked, “The people of Mahua chose me once, and I served them by bringing hospitals, ambulances, and securing approval for a medical college. I entrusted Mahua to Mukesh ji out of political compulsion… But now, crying won’t bring development. I brought both a medical and an engineering college. Bihar knows who actually worked.”
Why Choose Mahua?
Mahua is a rural region and part of the Hajipur Lok Sabha (Scheduled Caste) constituency. Voters aged 18-30 are a majority of the electorate.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, LJP (Ram Vilas) candidate Chirag Paswan won the parliamentary seat by defeating an RJD candidate with a margin of 1.7 lakh votes.
The RJD won Mahua for the first time in 2000 and retained it in 2005. The Janata Dal (United) flipped the seat in 2010, before losing it to the RJD in 2015. In that election, Tej Pratap Yadav polled 43% of the vote and secured a large margin over an NDA candidate.
In 2020, RJD leader Mukesh Kumar Raushan won the seat with a margin of nearly 8% over the JDU opponent. Notably, the two NDA parties in the fray — JDU and Chirag Paswa-led LJP — together polled more votes than Raushan.
Such a voting trend indicates the RJD is vulnerable if Tej Pratap manages to pull some of its vote base towards himself.
Mahua will go to the polls on Nov. 6 as part of the phase of the Bihar election. Results will be declared on Nov. 14.
