Patna: In a dramatic turn of events, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has expelled Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of former chief minister and party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, from the party, for six years.Lalu announced his expulsion through a social media post. He also declared that he was ending his relationship with Tej Pratap as a family member.On his Facebook account, Lalu wrote, “Ignoring moral values in personal life weakens our collective struggle for social justice. The activities, public conduct, and irresponsible behaviour of my eldest son (Tej Pratap Yadav) are not in accordance with our family values and traditions. Therefore, due to these circumstances, I remove him from the party and the family.”“From now on, he will not have any role in the party or the family. He is expelled from the party for six years. He can reflect on the good and bad, and the merits and demerits of his personal life. Anyone who wishes to maintain relations with him should do so at their own discretion. I have always been an advocate of public accountability in public life. Obedient members of my family have accepted and followed this idea in public life. Thank you,” he further wrote.What led to this?The immediate trigger for this expulsion is understood to be Tej Pratap’s Facebook post announcing a long-term relationship with a woman.On the evening of May 24, Tej Pratap Yadav wrote a Facebook post stating that he had been in a relationship for the past 12 years. He also shared a photo with his partner.In his post, he wrote, “I am Tej Pratap Yadav and the woman in the photo is Anushka Yadav. We have been in a relationship for 12 years. I wanted to tell you all for a long time, but I couldn’t understand how to say it… so today I have spoken through this post. I hope you will understand my point.”The post went viral, and several unverified photos and videos surfaced on social media showing Tej Pratap with the woman. Some social media users claimed that the two had got married.Later, Tej Pratap deleted his Facebook post and stated on X that his Facebook account had been hacked, and the photographs had been edited.“My social media platforms have been hacked and my pictures are being wrongly edited to harass and defame me and my family members. I appeal to my well-wishers and followers to be cautious and not pay heed to any rumors…” he wrote on X.As the post about his relationship went viral, questions were raised about his marital status. Tej Pratap got married in 2018 to Aishwarya Yadav, daughter of politician Chandrika Rai. After a few months, he filed for divorce. The case is still pending in court.ControversyDeeply religious and interested in music, Tej Pratap is no stranger to controversies.In 2020 he spoke disparagingly against former Union minister and socialist leader, the late Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, when he had resigned from the party’s vice-president post.“RJD is an ocean and Singh is like a mug of water whose coming/going will have no impact on the party,” Tej Pratap had said.In 2021, he criticised party president Jagdanand Singh for removing Akash Yadav as its youth wing president. Akash was close to Tej Pratap. He claimed that no notice had been given before the removal, which he said violated the party’s constitution. He later floated a new organisation called ‘Chhatra Jan Shakti Parishad’.He was expelled from the party in 2021 as well.His current expulsion is seen as a move to avoid embarrassment for the party during the election season. Assembly elections are due in Bihar in October-November.“The party has taken the right decision. If it hadn’t acted, it would have caused a huge embarrassment during the assembly elections,” an RJD leader told The Wire.Many believe that Lalu acted to suppress concerns among voters that the party was okay with an announcement like this. The expelling has also led to concerns over the RJD’s future in a post-Lalu era.