Why Rohini Acharya quit RJD, disowned family: Inside story of a bitter feud in Lalu Yadav's parivar
Rohini Acharya, a doctor by profession, is a former member of Lalu Yadav’s RJD. She contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the Saran constituency in Bihar, but was defeated.
In November 2022, Lalu Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya donated one of her kidneys to save her ailing father. "I can do anything for my father," she had said back then. Cut to three years later, Rohini Acharya dropped a bombshell in the same month after she announced quitting the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) - the party founded by her father, and "disowning her family".
In a post on X, Acharya wrote, "I'm quitting politics and I’m disowning my family... This is what Sanjay Yadav and Rameez had asked me to do ...nd I’m taking all the blame."
When asked about her decision later in Patna, she fired barbs at her brother Tejashwi and his aides for throwing her out for raising questions.
While the decision itself seems shocking, it gets even interesting as it comes just hours after the RJD suffered a humiliating defeat in the Bihar assembly elections at the hands of Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The party reacted to the loss, saying "ups and downs are inevitable" and they hold "no sorrow in defeat and no arrogance in victory".
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But Rohini's sudden exit from the family and the party has raised eyebrows and buzz about a possible feud in Lalu's family - a fallout of the election loss and who the people are she mentioned in her departing post.
Why Rohini Acharya broke ties with RJD: Blamegame, family feud and more
According to sources, some party members have blamed Rohini for the Mahagathbandhan's poor electoral performance, arguing that the public airing of her family dispute sent a negative message during the campaign.
In September, controversy erupted over Rohini's cryptic tweets, which had triggered speculations that the medical graduate-turned-homemaker, who was the party's candidate from Saran in last year's Lok Sabha polls, was unhappy with the clout of her younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.
Amid the controversy, Rohini travelled to Singapore. When she was later asked to return for campaigning, she was allowed to campaign only in Raghopur. Rohini had wanted to visit several constituencies in Chapra, but she was not permitted to do so. On the morning of the counting, Rohini reportedly sent Tejashwi a message saying Good luck, but he did not respond.
Who is Rameez? The man Rohini mentioned
Rameez has previously played cricket with Tejashwi. He is from Uttar Pradesh and was often seen with him during Tejashwi's Bihar Adhikar Yatra. Rameez is the son-in-law of a former Samajwadi Party MP.
Sanjay Yadav is said to view Rohini as a potential threat to Tejashwi's position. Their relationship had already been strained before this episode.
The Rameez mentioned by Rohini in connection with Sanjay Yadav is the son-in-law of former Samajwadi Party MP Rizwan Zaheer from Uttar Pradesh. Rizwan is currently in jail. Rohini has repeatedly objected to Tejashwi allowing someone from such a family to remain close to him.
Rameez is a resident of Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh and faces several criminal cases, including charges related to murder. Rameez oversees social media and election management for the RJD, and his wife has also contested assembly elections.
In Balrampur district, former Tulsipur chairman Firoz Pappu was murdered, and the conspiracy allegedly involved former MP Rizwan Zaheer, his son-in-law Rameez, his daughter Zeba Rizwan and three others. All six were arrested in that case.
Mahagathbandhan's Bihar election drubbing
The ruling NDA swept the Bihar elections 2025 on Friday, decisively defeating the Mahagathbandhan and returning to power. The Rashtriya Janata Dal saw its tally fall sharply from 75 seats to 25, while Congress managed to win only six of the 61 seats it contested, down from 19 in the previous election.
The BJP secured 89 seats, an improvement from its 74 seats in 2020, and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal U won 85 constituencies, nearly doubling its 2020 tally of 43.
Also Read: RJD's first reaction after debacle in Bihar elections: 'Ups and downs are inevitable'