"No Brother In Battleground, Only Enemy": 'Fredo' Tej Pratap Yadav's War Cry

In Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Michael Corleone, spectacularly played by Al Pacino, tells his elder brother Fredo (the late John Cazale), "Don't ever take sides against the family." Five decades later, Fredo has made an unanticipated cameo in the Bihar election campaign. As the meme war intensifies ahead of the ballot war, social media handles are drawing parallels between the Godfather character and Tej Pratap Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Yadav's son, and the elder brother of the Opposition's Chief Minister face, Tejashwi Yadav.

Known for his antics and off-the-cuff remarks, Tej Pratap Yadav has launched a solo poll campaign after he was expelled from RJD over a Facebook post. The Janshakti Janata Dal, with a blackboard as its poll symbol, is contesting 22 seats in the upcoming election. On several seats, Tej Pratap's party is contesting against his family's party, RJD, including in Mahua, where he is the candidate against the sitting RJD MLA Mukesh Kumar Raushan. Tej Pratap is also campaigning against Tejashwi Yadav in Raghopur, the family stronghold his parents, Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi, represented in the past. This time, his party has fielded a candidate, Prem Kumar, against his brother Tejashwi.

The Mahabharata Attack

Tej Pratap Yadav has made two chopper trips to Raghopur amid the high-voltage campaign. On why he was campaigning against his family's party in its stronghold, he replied, "Tejashwi should not have gone to Mahua. He went once, I have come twice."

Tej Pratap Yadav, who likes invoking mythological characters in his remarks, chanted shlokas from the Mahabharata after the chopper landed. "We have to establish Dharma. It has passed into the wrong hands. So Lord Krishna has reincarnated in Raghopur."

Without naming his brother, he said, "Whoever will not heed Krishna's words will fall into a ditch. If you don't respect Krishna and listen to Jaichands (a reference meaning traitor), you will fall into the ditch."

Drawing another Mahabharata reference, Tej Pratap said, "This is a battleground. There is no brother, no nephew, only the enemy."

'Tejashwi A Child'

Earlier, Tej Pratap Yadav called his brother Tejashwi a "child" and said he would hand him a "jhunjhuna" (rattle toy) after the polls. "Bachaa hai, chunaav baad usko jhunjhuna pakdayenge... If he goes to our area, we will go to his area too. Then we will go to Raghopur," he said.

Tej Pratap has also taken a swipe at pictures of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi fishing with key ally and the Opposition's Deputy Chief Minister candidate Mukesh Sahani. "Rahul Gandhi's job is to ride a motorcycle and spread pollution. He'll spend his entire life fishing. The country will be plunged into darkness. 'Jalebi chhan'na, machli pakadna, unko toh rasoiya hona chaiye tha'. Why did he become a politician?" he told reporters.

Tejashwi has been relatively restrained in his remarks against his elder brother during the campaign. In the past, he has said Tej Pratap works against RJD's candidates in every election.

Why Was Tej Pratap Expelled

Tej Pratap Yadav was expelled from RJD in May following a row over a photograph shared on his Facebook account. In the photo, he was seen with a woman. The post identified the woman as Anushka Yadav and said she and Tej Pratap were in a relationship for 12 years.

The post sparked a chatter, and people asked why Tej Pratap married in 2018 if he was in a relationship. The RJD leader married Aishwarya Rai, daughter of political heavyweight Chandrika Rai, in 2018, and a divorce case is on. Tej Pratap then claimed his profile had been hacked.

The next day, his father and RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav announced the decision to expel him from the party. He said "ignoring moral values" in personal life weakens the community's struggle for social justice. "The elder son's activities, public behaviour, and irresponsible conduct are not in line with our family's values. In the current circumstances, I remove him from the party and the family," he said, announcing the decision to expel Tej Pratap for six years.

Tejashwi, who largely manages party affairs, endorsed his father's decision against his brother. He said some actions "cannot be tolerated".