Lalu gives away RJD tickets; stops after Tejashwi’s intervention

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad distributed party tickets to several candidates until his son and heir Tejashwi Yadav pointed out in the early hours of Tuesday, October 14, 2025, that the RJD-led INDIA bloc in Bihar was yet to officially announce a seat-sharing formula.

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On Monday evening, October 13, 2025, a stampede-like situation was witnessed outside Circular Road 10, the bungalow allotted to RJD chief’s wife Rabri Devi, a former CM, when the couple returned from Delhi, where they had appeared before the court.

As the air filled with anticipation, candidates began pouring in, apparently receiving calls from the party, only to emerge minutes later with the party symbol in hand and a wide smile on their faces.

However, Mr Yadav, who returned from Delhi a few hours after his parents, was said to be disturbed by this development.

According to RJD sources, he told his father that photographs and video clips of party candidates bearing this symbol would not go down well with the alliance partners, with whom an agreement has not yet been reached.

Thereupon, the distribution of party symbols was stopped, and after midnight, people who bought them were asked to return the tickets, citing “technical problems”.

Sources said a formal announcement on the candidates would be made “this evening at the latest” as Mr Yadav is likely to file his nomination papers from Raghopur on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

Prominent among those who received RJD symbols were Sunil Singh (Parbatta), who quit Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) last week, and Narendra Kumar Singh alias Bogo, a several-term former MLA from Matihani who won seats in the CM-led party twice.

A few of the RJD MPs like Bhai Virendra, Chandrashekhar Yadav (Madhepura) and Israil Mansuri (Kanti) had also come out of the party president’s house waving the party symbol.

The scene was reminiscent of last year’s Lok Sabha polls, when the RJD supremo distributed a number of party tickets without waiting for the approval of the alliance partners, who eventually lined up.

Besides the Congress, RJD’s allies include three Left parties and former state minister Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Human Party. A truck carrying Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s JMM and former Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras’ RLJP is expected.