Tej Pratap’s Janshakti Janata Dal is latest entrant in Bihar polls fray, 21 candidates in first list

The candidates’ list includes nominees from districts including Patna, Madhubani, Gopalganj, Vaishali, Nawada, and Samastipur. Among the 21 candidates are Sanjay Yadav (Madhepura), Taurif Rehman (Narkatiyaganj), Ravi Raj Kumar (Hisua), Pushpa Kumari (Baniyapur), Advocate Meenu Kumari (Patna Sahib), Dr Gulshan Yadav (Bakhtiyarpur), and Awadh Kishor Jha (Benipur), showcasing diversity across caste and gender.

On September 26, Tej Pratap took to social media and proclaimed himself the national president of JJD. “We are fully dedicated and committed to the comprehensive development of Bihar. Our goal is to bring about complete transformation and establish a new order,” he had said in the post.

He was expelled from the RJD and from his family in May following a controversial social media post, later deleted, that allegedly showed Tej Pratap with a woman and referenced a 12-year relationship. He later denied authoring the post, claiming his account had been hacked.

However, Lalu Prasad distanced Tej Pratap from the family and the party, citing “irresponsible behaviour” and “deviation from the family’s moral values”, saying, “Ignoring moral values in personal life weakens our collective struggle for social justice.”

In response, Tej Pratap announced his return to Mahua, the seat that launched his political career. Taking aim at Mahua’s current RJD MLA, Mukesh Raushan, Tej Pratap had remarked, “The people of Mahua chose me once, and I served them by bringing hospitals, ambulances, and securing approval for a medical college. I entrusted Mahua to Mukesh ji out of political compulsion… But now, crying won’t bring development. I brought both a medical and an engineering college. Bihar knows who actually worked.”

In August, he launched a coalition of five small parties under the banner, Team Tej Pratap Yadav, promising social justice and structural change in Bihar. He also signalled a symbolic break from the RJD by swapping his signature green Gandhi cap, a symbol of his former party, for a yellow one.