Tejashwi named RJD working president at national executive meeting

RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav was on Sunday (January 25, 2026) named the working president of the party at its national executive meeting.

Mr. Yadav’s elevation comes after the RJD’s drubbing in the recent Assembly polls, which the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ had fought with the 36-year-old leader as its Chief Ministerial candidate.

In a post on X, the Rashtriya Janata Dal said the decision, which makes clear the line of succession in the party, was taken at its national executive meeting, which was attended by Mr. Yadav, Mr. Prasad and other senior leaders.

Mr. Yadav’s eldest sister and Patliputra MP Misa Bharti, who was said to be eying that party post, was also present at the meeting.

Tejashwi, a former deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

He had, on Saturday (January 24), appeared confident of his elevation in the party, as he had told workers at the RJD office that he was thinking of revamping the party structure from the booth level.

Mr. Yadav and his close aides, like Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Yadav, were squarely blamed for the poll debacle by his elder sister Rohini Acharya, who also alleged that when she insisted that accountability be fixed, abuses were hurled at her.

Mr. Yadav’s elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, who had made his political debut along with the former in 2015, was expelled from the party by Prasad last year, understandably at the insistence of the image-conscious younger sibling.

Tej Pratap has since floated his own outfit, Janshakti Janta Dal, which is yet to make an impact.