Tej Pratap Meets Woman Whose Photo With Him Led To His Exit From Party

Tej Pratap Yadav today met Anushka Yadav, the woman whose viral photo with him led his father Lalu Prasad Yadav to snap all family and political ties with him.

"We have family relations, so I have come here. No one can stop me from going anywhere. I am in contact with everyone," he said after a nearly 5-hour meeting with Ms Yadav.

A photo of the two was shared on Tej Pratap's Facebook account last month, claiming they had been in a relationship for 12 years. The photo was later deleted, and the former minister of Bihar claimed his account was "hacked" and the photo was posted without his knowledge. The damage, however, was done.

The next day, on May 25, Lalu Prasad expelled him from RJD for six years and also disowned him due to his "irresponsible behaviour".

Soon after, several photos of Anushka Yadav and Tej Pratap started doing the rounds on social media, which also drew a response from his estranged wife, Aishwarya Rai.

"Now everyone knows the truth. I want to know if everyone knew about it, then why did he marry me? Why did he ruin my life?" she said. "The 12-year secret is out now. If it was going on for so many years, then obviously, his family knew about it," she said, referring to a now-deleted social media post by Tej Pratap," she added.

Tej Pratap and Aishwarya Rai - granddaughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Daroga Prasad Rai - got married in 2018. They filed for a divorce within months of their wedding, and their petition is pending before a court

Ms Rai appeared before the media, in tears, and accused her in-laws of "ruining her life" by getting her married to him despite his being in a relationship with another woman since much before their wedding in 2018.

A few days after his expulsion, Tej Pratap Yadav alleged that there was a "conspiracy" to drive a wedge between him and his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav. In several posts on his X handle, his blamed the crisis on 'Jaichand', a metaphor for traitors.

Using a Mahabharata imagery, which he had been employing to describe his relationship with his far more successful younger brother, Mr Yadav wrote, "Those dreaming of a rift between me and Arjun, will never succeed in conspiracy. They can win over the military of Krishna, but can't capture Krishna himself. I will soon expose every such conspiracy." Without mentioning Tejashwi Yadav by name, he added, "My brother, I would ask you to have faith that I am with you in all circumstances. My blessings were with you and will be so always. Please take care of Mummy and Papa, Jaichand is outside as well as within".

The 37-year-old was expelled months before the Bihar assembly polls, which the RJD will fight under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav. He made his political debut in the 2015 assembly polls and is a second-term MLA with two brief stints in the state cabinet.