Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad swiftly expelled elder son and Hasanpur MLA Tej Pratap Yadav from the party for six years on May 25, a move that was in the making for a while given the latter’s long record of idiosyncrasies. The immediate provocation was Tej Pratap’s recent Facebook post picturing him alongside a woman with whom, it was claimed, he had been in a relationship for the past 12 years.
The problem with this public announcement is that Tej Pratap is still married to Aishwarya Rai, granddaughter of a former Bihar chief minister, Daroga Prasad Rai. They were married in 2018 in what was then seen as a kind of a dynastic union. The marriage fell apart in months, though divorce proceedings are still ongoing.
Tej Pratap quickly claimed that the post wasn’t his and that his account had been hacked. But, given the long string of politically embarrassing misdemeanours, of which Tej Pratap has been guilty over the years, Lalu wasn’t having any of it. His quick and firm action has been supported by his family, notably his children, of whom, of course, Raghopur MLA Tejashwi Yadav, the heir to Lalu’s political legacy, is the most consequential.
There are two entwined issues in this case. One is that of Tej Pratap’s private life and the other, of his public face. It is arguable that he should not be punished politically for his private affairs, but it’s not as simple as it looks.
In India, private morality cannot be readily separated from one’s private affairs, especially if one flaunts a lifestyle that is at variance with the dominant tenor of public morality as construed in various arenas. If Tej Pratap had been discreet, matters may not have been precipitated. You could call it hypocrisy, but that’s how society functions. Public figures have to be sensitive to social mores.
Moreover, Tej Pratap has, over the years, been a bit of a loose cannon both in speech and action in ways damaging to himself and to his party. He has failed to realise that he is not just another RJD member but a scion of the first family, and he has paid the price.
The larger context is provided by the impending assembly elections in Bihar, where a high-voltage confrontation between the National Democratic Alliance and the mahagathbandhan is due in around six months. Tej Pratap’s solecism could well have provided the RJD’s antagonists with fuel, which possibility the patriarch had to douse.
The disciplinary move should be cautionary for many who feel entitled to the point that they abandon common sense and political responsibility. It should be clear to serious politicians that their party’s interests should take precedence unless a serious principle is at stake.
