RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad on Sunday expelled elder son Tej Pratap Yadav from the “party and the family”, saying his “public conduct” had violated the political family’s “values and traditions”.

The surprise move, months ahead of Assembly polls, came after avid chatter had broken out on social media on Saturday evening about Tej Pratap’s relationship status following a now-deleted post.

The post, shared on Tej Pratap’s Facebook profile, showed a picture of him with a woman and claimed they had been in a relationship for the past 12 years. The post was deleted after an uproar and Tej Pratap claimed his social media platforms had been hacked.

“Elder son’s activities, public conduct and irresponsible behaviour are not in accordance with our family values and traditions. Therefore due to the above circumstances, I remove him from the party and the family,” the ailing Lalu, 76, said in a post on X on Sunday afternoon.

Lalu’s younger son Tejashwi Yadav has been leading the RJD, the principal opposition in Bihar.

“From now on, he (Tej Pratap) will not have any role of any kind in the party and family. He is expelled from the party for six years,” Lalu’s post said.

It added that “ignoring moral values in personal life weakens the collective struggle for social justice”.

Earlier, in a post on X on Saturday night, Tej Pratap had disowned the controversial Facebook post.

“My social media platforms have been hacked and my pictures are being wrongly edited to harass and defame me and my family members. I appeal to my well-wishers and followers to be cautious and ignore rumours,” Tej Pratap’s clarification said.

Sources in the RJD said Lalu had been forced to act after he was assured that the Facebook post had indeed been put out by Tej Pratap and that his claims about his accounts being hacked were false.

“Laluji had been aware of the activities of his son and so he expelled him, fearing an impact on the elections,” an RJD leader said, welcoming the development. Tej Pratap, who has repeatedly attracted controversy with his actions and statements, was married to former Bihar minister Chandrika Rai’s daughter Aishwarya in 2018. The couple separated months after the wedding. Many social media users had asked at the time why he had married Aishwarya when he was in a relationship with another woman.

“We both have known each other for the last 12 years and love each other deeply. We have been in a relationship throughout these years,” the now-deleted post on Tej Pratap’s Facebook page had said.

“I wanted to share this with all of you for a long time, but couldn’t find the right words. Today, through this post, I am opening my heart to you. I hope you all will understand.” Tejashwi and his sister Rohini Acharya, who had donated one of her kidneys to Lalu, publicly backed their father’s decision.

“We are doing our work, we are dedicated to Bihar, and we are raising people’s issues. As far as my elder brother is concerned, political life and personal life are different,” Tejashwi told reporters.

“Those who renounce decency and cross limits make themselves a subject of criticism,” Rohini said. In his post, Lalu warned party leaders associated with Tej Pratap.

“All those who will have relations with him (Tej Pratap) should take their own decisions,” he said. “I have always been an advocate of modesty in public life. The obedient members of the family have adopted and followed this idea in public life.”