Tej Pratap Yadav Targets Brother Tejashwi and Rahul Gandhi, Says ‘True Leaders Achieve on Their Own’

Patna, Oct 2025 : Janshakti Janata Dal (JD) national president Tej Pratap Yadav has launched a sharp attack on his younger brother and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, as well as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, questioning their credentials as “people’s leaders.”

Tej Pratap’s remarks come days after posters were put up outside the RJD office in Patna, hailing Tejashwi Yadav as the “hero of Bihar.” Reacting strongly, Tej Pratap — who was expelled from the RJD a few months ago — said, “Who are the real people’s leaders? Leaders like Karpoori Thakur, Ram Manohar Lohia, Babasaheb Ambedkar, and Mahatma Gandhi were true leaders of the masses. Those who call themselves ‘people’s leaders’ should not do so unless they have earned it through their own work.”

Referring to his father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tej Pratap said, “Lalu ji is a true leader of the people. Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav are still under Lalu Prasad Yadav’s shadow. When they achieve something on their own, only then can they be considered people’s leaders.”

He added, “I am not under the shadow of anyone. The blessings of the poor and the youth of Bihar are with me, and we are moving forward with their support.”

Earlier, senior RJD leader and Lalu Yadav’s close aide Abdul Bari Siddiqui had also weighed in on the debate over Tejashwi’s leadership. Siddiqui said it would “take time” for Tejashwi Yadav to emerge as a true mass leader.

“Tejashwi has inherited Lalu Yadav’s political legacy and is working to fulfill the aspirations of the backward classes,” Siddiqui said. “If he continues to uphold the ideals of Karpoori Thakur and Lalu Prasad Yadav, the public will surely recognize him as a genuine mass leader.”

The escalating war of words highlights growing tensions within the broader Yadav political family and Bihar’s opposition camp ahead of the upcoming electoral season.