Brothers At War: Tense Moments For Tejashwi Yadav In Raghopur, Tej Pratap Headed For Defeat In Mahua

Last Updated:November 14, 2025, 21:37 IST

Bihar election results: Tejashwi Yadav is aiming for a hat-trick in Raghopur, while Tej Pratap is seeking to wrest back Mahua from where he made his electoral debut in 2015

Tej Pratap is contesting the Bihar elections as a candidate of Janshakti Janta Dal, a party he floated after being expelled from the RJD. (PTI Photos)

It’s a tale as old as time in Indian politics. Almost every major election in the country has been candidates from the same political bloodline fight it out against each other. But rarely are they as closely related as Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, the sons of RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Hours into the counting of votes for the Bihar election on Friday, Lalu’s heir apparent and RJD’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav swung between leads and deficits in Raghopur, facing tense moments throughout the day. He eventually pulled ahead in a dramatic finish, clinching the seat after a nail-biting contest.

However, it was the ruling NDA that emerged with the dominant mandate, winning 148 seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly and leading in 55 other constituencies.

His elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, however, was trailing in Mahua since morning. Tej Pratap, who is contesting the Bihar elections as the candidate of Janshakti Janta Dal—a party he launched earlier this year after being expelled from the RJD by his father—ultimately lost the seat. Mahua was won by the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) candidate Sanjay Kumar Singh, who secured 44,997 votes.

Following his defeat, Tej Pratap said “Jaichands" were responsible for his loss and added that there is no place for nepotism in politics.

Tej Pratap was expelled from the RJD on May 25 for six years, a day after he reportedly confessed to being “in a relationship" with a woman. He, however, deleted the social media post later with a claim that his page was “hacked". Lalu Prasad also disowned Tej Pratap due to his “irresponsible behaviour".

A few days later, after his expulsion from the party, Tej Pratap had alleged that there was a “conspiracy" to drive a wedge between him and his younger brother Tejashwi. He had voiced his sentiments in a couple of posts on his X handle, blaming the crisis on ‘Jaichand’, a metaphor for traitors.

Tej Pratap’s JJD fought elections on 44 seats. Ruling out a return to the RJD, Tej Pratap also claimed he hasn’t met either of his parents since leaving the party and family. He has also skirted questions on whether he would align with the BJP or the opposition coalition, led by his estranged brother Tejashwi Yadav.

News elections Brothers At War: Tense Moments For Tejashwi Yadav In Raghopur, Tej Pratap Headed For Defeat In Mahua

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