Pyar, Parivar, and Politics
Dear readers,
Politics is a game of hard-nosed calculations. On the other hand, love—pyar, preethi, premam, kaadhal, or whatever you want to call it—has never really bothered with practicalities. So what happens when the messy impulsiveness of love collides with the cold pragmatism of politics?
We got a glimpse last week, thanks to Tej Pratap Yadav.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief's eldest son—better known to fans and journalists as Teju—has always been the more colourful character in Lalu Prasad's political theatre. A former Minister in the Mahagathbandhan government, Tej Pratap recently set off a storm after a Facebook post (now deleted) claimed that he had been in a 12-year relationship with one Anushka Yadav. The post included her photo and, predictably, went viral.
Tej Pratap is still technically married to Aishwarya Rai, the granddaughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Daroga Prasad Rai and daughter of six-time MLA and ex-Minister Chandrika Rai. Teju married Aishwarya in May 2018 in a lavish ceremony in Patna, the kind that blends dynastic pride with political math. The union was less about romance, more about reinforcing old-school ties between Bihar's heavyweight families—a vintage Lalu move, merging parivar with politics.
The marriage has reportedly been rocky, the matter is in court, and a divorce is pending. But the new revelation of an old relationship sent Bihar's political circles into a tizzy. Opposition parties questioned the Yadav family's 'moral standing' and accused them of treating women as pawns. Tej Pratap, trying to douse the fire, claimed that his social media accounts had been hacked and the images manipulated to 'defame' him and his family. But the fire was already burning.
Then came the most dramatic twist: Lalu Prasad himself took to social media to announce his son's expulsion from the party—for six years, no less—on the grounds that his actions went against the family's values and traditions. 'Ignoring moral values in personal life weakens our collective struggle for social justice,' Lalu declared. 'From now on, he will have no role in the party or family.'
But Aishwarya did not seem to buy it. In a sharply worded response, she asked: 'Where was this commitment to social justice when I was assaulted and driven out of the house? Why did no one intervene then, when this so-called 12-year-old affair was already known to the family?'
It is not the first time Tej Pratap has threatened to derail the RJD's plans. In 2019, he floated the Lalu-Rabri Morcha party to mark his rebellion during a family leadership tussle. By 2020, he was back in the fold, singing paeans to younger brother Tejashwi with the campaign slogan 'Tej Raftar, Tejashwi Sarkar' (High Speed, Tejashwi Government)—borrowed from a local singer named Pramod Premi Yadav. Teju also earned media attention for his antics: pouring water on a Shivalinga, walking the streets as a blogger, and playing the flute in Krishna's garb.
Now, it is another role: the prodigal son, exiled for love.
Of course, Tej Pratap is far from the first politician whose love life has become political lightning. I am reminded of Chander Mohan, the son of Haryana veteran Bhajan Lal, who disappeared in 2008, only to reappear claiming he had married senior lawyer Anuradha Bali after both had converted to Islam. He became Chand Mohammed; she, Fiza. The scandal cost him his post as Deputy Chief Minister. The love story unravelled in about 40 days. Fiza was later found dead in her home in 2012.
Not every love story has had such a grim ending. The Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi saga and Akhilesh Yadav's marriage to Dimple despite Mulayam's early disapproval are happily-ever-afters. The interfaith weddings of BJP leaders like Sushil Modi (who married Jessie George, a Christian from Mumbai) and Shahnawaz Hussain (who wed Renu Sharma) tell of love outlasting opposition. And love triumphing over party ideology.
Sushil Modi famously met Jessie on a train. Top RSS leaders Nanaji Deshmukh and Bhaurao Deoras were in attendance. Even Atal Bihari Vajpayee dropped in and reportedly encouraged Sushil to move from the ABVP to the BJP.
Then there is Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Seema—three ceremonies (court, nikah, and Hindu rites) followed their Allahabad University romance. Manish Tewari of the Congress married Nazneen Shifa, a Parsi. The party's student wing, the National Students' Union of India, was their matchmaker. Dinesh Gundu Rao, a Brahmin from Karnataka, married Tabassum, a Muslim woman he met in college.
Some unions fray over time. Omar Abdullah and Payal Nath's marriage ended in a long legal battle, with the Delhi High Court in 2023 refusing to grant a divorce. Sachin Pilot and Sara Abdullah (Omar's sister) married in 2004; they reportedly separated nearly two decades later, according to Pilot's 2023 election affidavit.
And who can forget the 2015 buzz around senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and TV anchor Amrita Rai? After intimate photos went viral, Singh publicly acknowledged the relationship. 'I have no hesitation in accepting it,' he said. Rai confirmed she had filed for divorce from her previous husband. There was trolling, but the couple stayed together, Rai even joining Singh on his 2017-18 Narmada Yatra.
Romance in politics comes with its own manifesto: a mix of daring declarations, party discipline, courtroom drama, and some very public heartbreak.
Which brings us back to Tej Pratap. Will love triumph? Will he return to the RJD fold? Or will the next twist in this pyar-parivar-politics triangle prove final?
We'll keep watching. While you tell us what you think of our lovelorn legislators.
Until the next one,
Anand Mishra | Political Editor, Frontline
We hope you've been enjoying our newsletters featuring a selection of articles that we believe will be of interest to a cross-section of our readers. Tell us if you like what you read. And also, what you don't like! Mail us at frontline@thehindu.co.in
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The AIMIM secured five wins out of 15 in its debut assembly election in Bihar, but only in Muslim-majority constituencies, highlighting both its rise and its limits. The 2020 results revealed a scattered field where Muslim votes were divided and Muslim candidates increasingly reliant on narrow, community-driven strategies rather than broad-based alliances (Table 6). This pattern in which Muslim candidates often win from seats with a large Muslim population raises a troubling question. Why is it that Muslim voters often vote along ideological lines, but non-Muslim voters seem to prefer sticking to caste lines when the candidate is Muslim? According to the CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey of 2020, 76% of Muslims voted for the Mahagathbandhan, irrespective of caste and region. Yet when a Muslim candidate stands, many from the Mahagathbandhan's own base often keep their votes firmly within caste and religious borders. Transferability, the supposed lifeblood of coalition politics, seems to get stuck in traffic whenever a Muslim candidate appears on the ballot. The irony is rich: the most ideologically loyal voters get the least electoral reward. Perhaps parties in Bihar should hold a crash course on coalition basics, or at least invest in stronger vote transfer engines. Because if secular parties don't seriously rethink Muslim representation soon, they may find their minority plank strong in theory, but minority MLAs missing from the seats that count. For years, Muslims in Bihar have voted with hope in their hearts, not for their own caste or narrow interests. Muslims stood by the promises of secularism, cast their vote for alliances and not identity. But when it's time for tickets or seats, they're too often left behind, told quietly that the numbers don't favour them. Their loyalty is rarely doubted, yet they are rarely rewarded by secular parties. Muslims aren't asking for privilege, they are asking just for a fair place at the table. And if their voice keeps getting ignored, the silence they leave behind may one day speak volumes. Aamir Shakil is a political researcher based in Delhi. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
