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Patna: Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of Bihar's stalwart politician and former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, is leading his own political front, Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD), in the state's 2025 Assembly election. Tej Pratap Yadav, who has had his share of controversies during his nearly a decade-long political tenure, founded his own party after being ousted by Lalu Yadav over alleged irresponsible behaviour and actions deemed inconsistent with family values and party discipline. In 2025 polls, he contested from Mahua Assembly seat, a constituency he had earlier won in 2015. Tej Pratap's style of politics has evolved in a markedly different direction from that of his father, Lalu Yadav, or his younger brother, Tejashwi Yadav. Let's understand how he started and where he stands today. Tej Pratap Yadav's Academic Qualification As per an affidavit submitted during his debut in the 2015 Bihar Assembly election, Tej Pratap Yadav has completed studies up to Class 12 (Intermediate) from BSEB in 2010. Tej Pratap's Election Debut Tej Pratap made his electoral debut as an RJD candidate in the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls, contesting from the party stronghold Mahua seat, and was elected as a first-time MLA. In the 2020 Assembly elections, he switched to Hasanpur and was once again elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. In 2025, after being ousted from the RJD and the Lalu Yadav family, Tej Pratap founded Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) on August 18, 2025, and filed his nomination from Mahua once again. The JJD is led by Balendra Das as party president. His fate in Mahua has already been sealed, as the constituency voted in the first phase on November 6. Overall, JJD is contesting elections on 21 seats. Tej Pratap Served As Bihar's Health Minister And Environment Minister Tej Pratap Yadav served as the Cabinet Minister of Health in Nitish Kumar's government from November 2015 to July 2017. He later held the position of Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from August 2022 to January 2024. During his tenure as Environment Minister, he promoted horse-riding as an initiative to help curb pollution in the state. Tej Pratap and Controversy Over His Remark on PM Modi In 2017, Tej Pratap Yadav stirred controversy by threatening to skin Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the Centre downgraded Lalu Prasad Yadav’s security from Z+ to Z. In another incident, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a video went viral showing his security guards allegedly assaulting a video journalist. Tej Pratap responded by filing an FIR, claiming there was a conspiracy to kill him. Tej Pratap Yadav — A Content Creator Despite politics being his primary focus, Tej Pratap runs a YouTube channel called ‘LR Vlog’, where he shares his life journey and travel videos. Recently, his channel crossed 100K -- 1 Lakh -- subscribers, an occasion he celebrated and thanked his followers for. Tej Pratap Yadav's Alleged Extra-Marital Affairs Tej Pratap is married to Aishwarya Rai, daughter of Chandrika Rai and granddaughter of Bihar’s former Chief Minister Daroga Prasad Rai. However, earlier this year, Tej Pratap courted controversy after publicly revealing a 12-year relationship with Anushka Yadav via Facebook on May 24, 2025. When confronted, Yadav initially claimed his Facebook account was compromised. Later, in an interview, he admitted to making the post himself but deleted it due to family pressure. Despite his 2018 marriage to Aishwarya Rai, which is still pending in family court, it is believed he has been with Anushka for over a decade and that the two are already married, based on widely circulated photos and other sources. In a post on X after Tej Pratap's alleged affair came in public light, Lalu Yadav declared expelled him from both the family and the party. It was after this that he formed his own political outfit JJD. Tej Pratap, through his election campaign, is making a bold attempt to carve out an independent identity—one distinctly different from that of his father and brother, Tejashwi Yadav. His political attacks are more inward-facing, targeting the RJD and Congress, rather than the ruling alliance. He has notably distanced himself from the INDIA bloc’s 'vote-chori' allegations and refrained from directly questioning the Prime Minister. But whether a maverick Tej Pratap will be able to translate this rebellion into votes will be clear on November 14, when the Bihar Assembly election results are set to be declared. Polling in the state is taking place in two phases. Phase 1 has already concluded on November 6, while Phase 2 is scheduled for November 11. Bihar has a total of 243 Assembly constituencies. For the Latest news, India News, Bihar Election 2025 updates and breaking stories from around the world, visit Times Now for live coverage and in-depth reporting.
