RJD president Lalu Prasad’s estranged son Tej Pratap on Sunday invoked Krishna’s “Sudarshan Chakra” on whoever dared “insult” his sister Rohini Acharya, as fresh discord hit the family in the run-up to the Bihar polls.

The warning from Lalu’s elder son, expelled from “the party and the family” in May, came after Rohini seemed to indicate a falling out with her brother Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD’s de facto leader.

Party sources said this was linked to Tejashwi’s reluctance to give Rohini a poll ticket.

The controversy comes just when Tejashwi has concluded his five-day, solo Bihar Adhikar Yatra, meant to project him as the Opposition alliance’s undeclared chief ministerial candidate.

Rohini, the second of Lalu’s nine children, had donated a kidney to her father in 2022. She has deleted “RJD” from her X profile and un-followed RJD leaders, including Tejashwi, fuelling speculation.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav with his daughter and party candidate from Saran constituency Rohini Acharya during filing of her nomination for Lok Sabha elections, at Chapra in Saran district, Monday, April 29, 2024. PTI

“As a woman, the commendable work she has done is something that perhaps no daughter or mother could do,” Tej Pratap told reporters in Patna.

“My sister will always be revered for what she has done. Whoever insults our sisters, Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra will strike them.”

Rohini had contested the last Lok Sabha elections from Saran, a family pocket borough, against the BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy and lost narrowly. The political greenhorn’s nomination was seen as a reward for donating a kidney to her father.

Lalu had camped in Saran for days to try and secure a victory for his daughter.

Rohini, party insiders said, now wants to contest the Assembly polls and this seems to have annoyed Tejashwi, who is running a spirited campaign to defeat the NDA.

“Tejashwi is against fielding family members. He is already battling allegations about the RJD being a family enterprise; he doesn’t want to give further ammunition to the BJP,” a senior RJD leader said.

Bihar Assembly LoP Tejashwi Yadav during the Budget session of state Assembly, in Patna, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. PTI

Tej Pratap, expelled by Lalu over his alleged extramarital affair, has been running a campaign against Tejashwi. Some believe that Rohini might join him to further hurt the RJD ahead of the polls.

Rohini’s last post on X, on Saturday, seemed to corroborate the speculated reason for the latest rift.

“I have fulfilled my duty and dharma as a daughter and a sister, and I will continue to do so. I have no desire for any position, nor do I have any political ambition. For me, my self-respect is supreme,” she wrote.

She also re-shared one of her posts from 2022 with a video of her being wheeled around the Singapore hospital where she donated her kidney to Lalu.

The ruling NDA appeared eager to fish in troubled waters.

“Rohini is a daughter who donated her kidney to her father. She has expressed her pain through a tweet,” JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said.

“Now, it is the duty of Lalu Yadav, as head of the family, to decide who is at fault.”

Rohini also waded into a controversy involving Tejashwi’s political adviser, Sanjay Yadav, who was captured on camera sitting in the front seat of Tejashwi’s bus during the Bihar Adhikar Yatra.

RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav with party leader Tejashwi Yadav arrives to attend Budget session of the state Assembly, in Patna

A YouTube influencer used the image to obliquely slam Sanjay, saying some individuals considered themselves above the leadership and stressing that the front seat was for Tejashwi.

Rohini shared the YouTuber’s post on her timeline, indicating her indignation
at Sanjay.

Neither Tejashwi nor Sanjay has spoken on the subject so far.

Abuse row

The BJP and its allies have doubled down on the RJD alleging a fresh insult to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late mother.

On Saturday evening, the BJP released a video that appeared to show some RJD supporters abusing Modi’s mother near Tejashwi’s Bihar Adhikar Yatra stage.

While the RJD claimed it was a “doctored” video, the BJP sought to turn it into a poll plank, accusing Tejashwi of “facilitating” the abuse of Modi’s mother.

“The more the RJD workers raised abusive slogans, the more Tejashwi encouraged them. The RJD-Congress has one programme — abuse mothers and sisters,” the BJP said on X.

Last month, the BJP had alleged that derogatory comments had been made against the Prime Minister’s mother during Rahul Gandhi’s Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar.