Will Lalu replace Tejashwi with daughter Rohini Acharya?

The RJD leader’s second daughter is not a politician, but has a clean image, which may endure her to Nitish Kumar. M I Khan reports.

With ties between the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal appearing to wobble over Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, speculations are rife that Lalu Yadav will replace his son with his second daughter Rohini Acharya as the deputy chief minister.

“Laluji has been bargaining for days and maintained a public stand that Tejashwi will not resign. However, the reality is that Lalu ji has already made up his mind of replacing Tejaswhi with Rohini in case Nitish Kumar demands the resignation of the Yadav heir,” said a senior RJD leader who is close to Lalu.

The RJD leader added, “Laluji will do everything to save the mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) and will not allow the break it up or split it. He will replace Tejashwi with Rohini as a last step to save the alliance.”

Reports state that Lalu was initially not ready to accept this proposal when put forth by a senior leader.

JD-U leaders said the Bihar CM, cautious of his image, is in a dilemma as the RJD is declaring repeatedly that Tejashwi won’t resign. They said Nitish Kumar’s USP is his clean image and zero tolerance against corruption.

Rohini is a doctor by profession and she was married in 2002 to an IT engineer. But she is neither known as a politician nor is she a popular figure in Bihar. However, she has a clean image is not facing any allegations of corruption. 

Lalu’s love for his family in politics is not new. His elder daughter Misa Bharti is a Rajya Sabha MP.

In 2015, Lalu inducted his sons -- Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav -- into politics during the Bihar elections. Now, Tej Pratap is the Bihar health minister in the Nitish Kumar government while Tejashwi is the deputy chief minister of the state.

Lalu’s wife Rabri Devi, who is MLC, is the leader of the party in Bihar legislative council.