Jan Shakti Janata Dal president Tej Pratap Yadav meets his father, Bihar’s former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his brother RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav, and invites them for the Dahi-Chuda feast in Patna on Tuesday. (X/@TejYadav14 via ANI Photo)
Many eyebrows were raised on Tuesday (January 14, 2026) when Tej Pratap Yadav, the estranged elder son of RJD president Lalu Prasad, turned up at a feast organised here by senior BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha.
Mr. Yadav, a former Minister who has floated his own outfit – Janshakti Janata Dal – following expulsion from the RJD, received a warm welcome from Mr. Sinha.
He had met the deputy CM a few days ago to extend an invitation for a feast he will be hosting on Wednesday (January 14, 2026) on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
Mr. Sinha hosted the feast on the eve of the festival, which was attended by a host of senior NDA leaders, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, fellow Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Santosh Kumar Suman.
When Mr. Yadav, who lost his seat in the recently held Assembly polls, was asked by journalists whether he had any plans to join the NDA, he said: “We may have different political ideologies, but we share the same cultural ethos. As regards other things, you will get to know about it in due course”.
Mr. Sinha replied in a similar vein, saying “all Biharis stand united, drawing positive energy from the Sanatan culture, which Makar Sankranti is an epitome of”.
Faced with further queries about the possible entry of Mr. Yadav into the BJP-led coalition, he said, “As you have already been told, you will get to know when the time comes”.
The BJP leader did not reply to another question as to whether Mr. Yadav’s younger brother Tejashwi, the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, was expected at the feast.
Published – January 14, 2026 12:31 pm IST
