Bihar Education Minister and RJD leader Chandra Shekhar's elder brother, Ram Chandra Prasad Yadav, has joined the BJP, hitting out at the Lalu Prasad-led party and lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "RJD has done precious little for marginalised sections of society, especially Scheduled Castes. It has deviated from path of its primary goals of social justice. In comparison, PM Narendra Modi has been working for cause of all sections of society,” Ram Chandra said after joining the BJP Friday in the presence of state party president Samrat Choudhary and other senior leaders. Ram Chandra, who recently retired as a professor from a Delhi University college, also rejected Chandra Shekhar’s remarks on Ramcharitmanas as “wrong”. In January this year, the Bihar Education Minister had sparked a row by calling Tulsidas’s epic “divisive”. While Chandra Shekhar refrained from commenting on his brother’s move, RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta told The Indian Express: "Anyone can join any group or political party in a democracy. Just because the person happens to be the brother of our party colleague and Minister does not mean that it is going to hurt us. RJD is a well-entrenched party and is not affected by such things.” Another RJD leader, however, conceded that BJP had started its play very early in the run-up to the 2025 Assembly polls even if Chandra Shekhar might not face much of an electoral threat with his brother joining the BJP. "But we wonder why Chandra Shekhar did not try to dissuade his brother from joining BJP,” he said. The BJP’s OBC Morcha national general secretary and state party spokesperson, Nikhil Anand, said: "The way Chandra Shekhar's brother has criticised his statements (on Ramcharitmanas) and joined BJP proves that Chandra Shekhar has no takers even in his family. The Education Minister has forced youth and students to hit road in protest against his fluctuating education policy including recent removal of (Bihar) domicile clause from the conditions for teachers' appointment.” BJP sources said Chandra Shekhar's brother joining the saffron party would would give it an “advantage” for two reasons. "First, Chandrashekhar, who has been speaking against some portions of Ramcharitmanas, would be somewhat wary of speaking anything that invites criticism from his own brother. Second, BJP might play mind game with RJD by pitting one brother against another in Madhepura in 2025 Assembly polls,” said a party source. The BJP has never won the Yadavs-dominated Madhepura constituency on its own steam. Before 2010, the seat had been won by the JD(U) as part of the NDA. Chandra Shekhar has been winning it since on the RJD’s ticket for the consecutive three times.
