Lalu attends Tej Pratap’s Sankranti feast, signals reconciliation after poll drubbing

RJD chief Lalu Prasad attended a Makar Sankranti feast at his estranged elder son Tej Pratap Yadav’s house, months after expelling him from the party. The visit sparked reconciliation speculations amid family tensions and post-election political fallout

Patna: RJD president Lalu Prasad on Wednesday attended a Makar Sankranti feast at his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav’s house, months after expelling him from the party and snapping all personal ties.

Yadav, who floated the Janshakti Janta Dal (JJD) following the expulsion, met his parents and younger brother Tejashwi on Tuesday night and invited them to the ‘dahi-chura’ (curd and flattened rice) feast.

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However, only Prasad, who is in his late 70s and keeps indoors because of multiple health complications, turned up at Yadav’s house.

Prasad did not take any questions from journalists, but the visit led to speculations whether it signalled a reconciliation within the family, which has been trying to recover from the shock of a humiliating defeat in the recently-held assembly polls.

Prasad had expelled Yadav from the RJD in May last year and had declared that he “shall have nothing to do with the family”. He had criticised his elder son’s actions and public conduct, saying his “irresponsible behaviour” was “not in consonance with the values of my family”.

The expulsion came a day after Yadav announced on social media that he was “in a relationship for 12 years” with a woman, despite being married and his divorce petition still pending before a family court. He, however, deleted the post a few hours later, claiming on X that his Facebook page was “hacked”.

In run up to the assembly elections, Yadav floated the JJD and fielded candidates in a host of seats, but all of them forfeited deposits.

Yadav, on his part, had triggered speculations on Tuesday when he attended a similar feast hosted by Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha. Neither leader confirmed nor denied speculations of Yadav’s entry into the BJP-led NDA.

Besides Prasad, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan also attended the feast at Yadav’s house.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and other ministers attended a feast hosted by senior JD(U) leader Ratnesh Sada.

Meanwhile, when Sinha was asked about Prasad’s visit to Yadav’s house, he said, “They are, after all, family. How can they not be together on a festive occasion when people are known to forget their differences, even if temporarily?” Sinha also trained his guns at Tejashwi, the leader of the opposition, who was conspicuous by his absence during the inaugural session of the current assembly held in December.

“I would advise him to spend less time on vacations abroad,” said the BJP leader, taking a dig at RJD heir apparent, who returned to the state after remaining away for over a month.