Lalu Prasad passes on the baton; Tejashwi Yadav now RJD’s new working president

Yadav’s eldest sister and Patliputra MP Misa Bharti, who was said to be eying that party post, was also present at the meeting.

Patna: Nearly two decades after presiding over as RJD chief, Lalu Prasad on Sunday passed on the baton to his younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav and appointed him as the party’s national working president.

Tejashwi’s elevation came at the RJD’s national executive committee meeting in Patna which was attended by his parents Lalu and Rabri Devi, besides his eldest sister Misa Bharti, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Patliputra in Patna.

The move comes amid reports of Lalu not keeping good health.

“Dawn of a new era. Tejashwi has been appointed as the national working president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD),” said the RJD in a post in Hindi on X.

The elevation also marks the further cementing of Tejashwi’s grip over the party, which though was today marred by sarcastic comment by his own sister Rohini Acharya.

Family feud

Always at loggerheads with Tejashwi ever since the RJD was routed in the 2025 Bihar Assembly election and could romp home on merely 25 seats in the 243-member House, Singapore-based sister Rohini Acharya said “the party was being influenced by ‘infiltrators and conspirators’ sent by ideological opponents to weaken the party from within.”

In a post in Hindi, Rohini, without naming anyone, said on X: “Those responsible for leadership decisions within the party should introspect rather than avoiding questions or creating confusion.”

Rohini’s angst against Tejashwi is primarily aimed at his close aides Sanjay Yadav, a Rajya Sabha member, and another associate Rameez. Rohini, who unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary election from Lalu’s turf – Saran - but lost to BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a former Union Minister, in 2024, apparently is peeved with Tejashwi’s aides for putting a spoke in her (political journey) wheels.

However, notwithstanding the internecine feud within the family, the national executive meeting congratulated Tejashwi and urged him to take Lalu’s ideology further.