'Will declare candidates on Oct 13; I'll contest from Mahua': Tej Pratap Yadav

The Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) will be announcing their candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections on October 13 (Monday), the party's founder and former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tej Pratap Yadav said on Saturday.

Yadav himself will be contesting from the Mahua assembly constituency, the same seat he had won during the 2015 elections, while still being with the RJD.

"I will declare my candidates the day after tomorrow. Parso jordaar ailaan hoga (Day after tomorrow big announcements will be made)...I will contest from Mahua", the JJD founder said.


When asked about whether he is talking with other parties, he said, "Everyone is coming to meet me".

Tej Pratap Yadav is the son of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. He was expelled from the party and the Yadav family for a serious breach of moral and social values after controversy broke out over a Facebook post of his claiming that he was in a long-term relationship with a woman, prompting netizens to recall his marital dispute that made headlines a few years ago. Tej Pratap had claimed that his account was hacked.

Yadav had tied the knot with Aishwarya, granddaughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Daroga Rai. However, within a few months, Aishwarya left his house alleging that she was driven out by her husband and in-laws, and the couple's divorce petition is pending before the family court.

After his expulsion from the RJD, Tej Pratap Yadav founded the JJD.

Currently, the Mahua constituency, from which Tej Pratap is set to contest, is held by RJD leader Mukesh Kumar Raushan.

The first phase of the Bihar Assembly polls will take place on November 6, and the second phase will happen on November 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.

This upcoming electoral contest will be between the NDA, led by the BJP, and Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), and the INDIA bloc, led by Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

The INDIA bloc looks to unseat Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who leads the NDA.

However, JJD is not only a new player in the Bihar electoral battle, as Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj has also staked claims on all 243 seats of the state.