Patna: Internal friction within the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) escalated ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections as Rohini Acharya, daughter of party supremo Lalu Prasad, issued a public statement dismissing rumours of her political ambitions.
In a strongly worded post, Acharya said: “All the rumours being spread about me by trolls, vandals, paid media, and those with malicious intent to usurp the party are baseless and part of a propaganda campaign aimed at damaging my image. I have never had, do not have, and will never have any political ambitions. I neither want to be a candidate for the Legislative Assembly nor to get anyone to be a candidate. I have no aspirations for Rajya Sabha membership. I have no rivalry with any family member, nor do I desire any position in the party or any future government.”
मेरे संदर्भ में ट्रोलर्स, उद्दंडों, पेड – मीडिया एवं पार्टी हड़पने की कुत्सित मंशा रखने वालों के द्वारा फैलाये जा रहे तमाम अफवाह निराधार और मेरी छवि को नुकसान पहुँचाने के मकसद से किए जा रहे दुष्प्रचार का हिस्सा हैं .. मेरी कोई राजनीतिक महत्वाकांक्षा न कभी रही थी , न है और ना ही…
— Rohini Acharya (@RohiniAcharya2) September 21, 2025
Her remarks followed a sequence of events that stoked speculation — she briefly made her social media accounts private, unfollowed all family and party members, and later restored her accounts while following only three people: her husband Shamsher Singh, poet Rahat Indori, and The Straits Times.
The controversy was triggered during the Bihar Adhikar Yatra, when Sanjay Yadav, a close aide of Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, was seen occupying a front seat in a campaign bus — a spot many RJD leaders believe is reserved for top leadership. Acharya amplified a comment on the matter by reposting it without remark, fuelling speculation of discontent. She later sought to downplay the row by posting an image of two leaders, writing that empowering the marginalised was central to her father’s campaign for socio-economic justice.
The episode has exposed deepening fissures within the party as it gears up for the state elections, with Acharya’s public denial of political ambition seen as an attempt to shield her family’s reputation while distancing herself from intra-party rivalries.
