Tej Pratap Yadav: 'Fighting alone, guided only by Krishna and Mahadev'

In an exclusive conversation with NewsX, former Bihar minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav opened up about his solo political journey, his strained family ties, and his vision for Bihar, declaring that he expects his Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) to win “around 30 seats” in the upcoming Assembly polls.

- SHIKHA SALARIA

“It's a fight to the finish because I’m doing everything alone. I have no patronage from anyone. My only protectors are Krishna ji and Mahadev. With their blessings, we are going among the people,” he said, adding that a politician's struggle “continues till death.”

Having broken away from the RJD, Tej Pratap described the challenges of building a new political organisation from scratch. “We work like a family. I assign responsibilities and everyone fulfils them. Some get upset and leave; others join us. Running an outfit is challenging, but I've been used to it since childhood.”

He credits Lalu Prasad Yadav as his “guru” and names Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan as his ideological inspirations. Asked about reports that his father was upset, he replied wryly, “Who is upset and who is not... I want nobody to be upset. Everyone makes me upset.”