Raghuvansh Prasad Singh’s Fierce Goodbye To RJD Shakes Bihar Politics
Indian politics is no stranger to dramatic resignations, but the way Raghuvansh Prasad Singh exited the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) caught many by surprise. In September 2020, just before Bihar’s assembly polls, the seasoned politician and former Union Minister finally parted ways with the party he had helped shape from day one. The reason? He couldn’t stomach what he saw as the party’s transformation from a broad socialist platform to one tightly held by a single family—the Lalus.
What sharpened the blow wasn’t just his leaving, but how he did it. Singh scrawled blunt resignation notes from a hospital bed, directly addressing Lalu Prasad Yadav, the man he’d stood by since the death of socialist icon Karpoori Thakur. Singh’s words were charged: for 32 years he had stayed loyal, but accused the party of losing its way, replacing old social leaders’ images with those of Lalu Yadav’s family in party literature. The charge was stinging—the RJD, born of socialist ideals, had, in his eyes, been overrun by dynastic ambition, “feudalism, caste politics, and familism.”
His letters weren’t vague complaints. Singh called out, name by name, the sidelining of Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, and Karpoori Thakur to make room for five faces—all from the same family. He also vented over the leadership style of Lalu’s son, Tejashwi Yadav, questioning the path a party takes when fresh power goes unchecked. Even before his final move, Singh had tried resigning in June 2020, frustrated by the apparent decision to admit Rama Singh, a controversial figure with a patchy record.
Political Ripples and Party Denials
Singh’s departure didn’t just surprise his followers—it triggered a wave of debate across political circles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi even brought up Singh’s passionate appeals for development in Vaishali, using those words to spotlight the need for real progress in Bihar. Meanwhile, the RJD tried to contain the fallout. Leaders claimed Singh’s letters weren’t authentic, pointing to the fact they surfaced while he was seriously ill with post-COVID complications. But the content rang clear and too pointed to brush off as simple confusion.
Within days of his resignation, Singh died—leaving the party and the state to make sense of what his exit really meant. It wasn’t just about hurt feelings. His comments forced RJD loyalists and skeptics alike to reckon with the rise of dynasty politics and whether the original vision of representative, issue-driven leadership had been smothered by narrow family interests. Many grassroots RJD supporters felt torn: they admired Singh’s blunt honesty but also worried about the impact such an outspoken split would have so close to the state elections.
Behind the drama was a real question facing not just the RJD but many major parties: Can true socialist values survive in parties so tightly controlled by a handful of relatives? Or has feudal-style family control become the new normal in Indian politics?
With Singh’s sudden exit and the dust still settling, the Raghuvansh Prasad Singh episode is bound to shape the battleground in Bihar for years to come. It’s a chapter full of hard questions, uncomfortable answers, and a warning for any leader who thinks loyalty can outlast a sense of fairness.