Political dynamics in Bihar are heating up in anticipation of the assembly elections scheduled for later this year. A significant development has emerged with Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of Lalu Yadav, breaking away from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) to establish his own political party. The new party is called ‘Janshakti Janata Dal’. He visited the Election Commission on August 17th to initiate the registration process.
Tej Pratap Yadav, along with the party’s president and secretary, met with the Chief Electoral Officer. The formation of this party dates back to 2020. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Balendu Das, a close associate of Tej Pratap, ran as a candidate of the Janshakti Janata Dal party. He was allotted the flute as his election symbol.
Tej Pratap presented the necessary documents to the Election Commission. Notices were issued by the Election Commission to several parties in the state, requiring them to renew their registration and submit pertinent documents. This led to speculation about Tej Pratap Yadav’s potential leadership role within Janshakti Janata Dal.
On Monday, Janshakti Janata Dal was recognized by the Election Commission. Tej Pratap had a discussion with the Chief Electoral Officer for about 30 minutes and registered the party in his name.
When questioned by the media after his meeting with the Chief Electoral Officer, Tej Pratap Yadav clarified that his visit was related to the issue of voters’ names being removed from the Mahua assembly constituency.
Tej Pratap Yadav also commented on the ongoing ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ (Vote Rights Journey) being conducted by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar. He expressed his opinion that the journey would not be fruitful, arguing that the focus should be on crucial issues like jobs and education. He criticized Rahul and Tejashwi for what he perceived as a waste of time on the ‘SIR’ issue.