Rajesh Ranjan commonly known as Pappu Yadav
Rajesh Ranjan, born on 24 December 1967, is an Indian politician from Bihar. He serves as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Purnia constituency in Bihar.
Yadav, who has a background linked to criminal activities, entered politics in the 1990s. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha in the years 1991, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2014, and 2024, representing different constituencies in Bihar. His electoral victories have been achieved either independently or under various party affiliations, including the Samajwadi Party, Lok Janshakti Party, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), demonstrating his ability to win elections irrespective of party ties.
In the 2015 Bihar elections, Yadav established his own party, the Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik), but it struggled to gain significant traction and received minimal support. On 20 March 2024, he merged his party with the Indian National Congress (INC).
Politics:
Yadav’s political career began with an independent victory in the Singheshwar constituency during the 1990 Bihar Legislative Assembly election. His success quickly drew the attention of influential politicians, including RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. In the 1991 Indian general election, Yadav won the Purnia Lok Sabha constituency by a significant margin, establishing his strong presence in the Kosi region.
However, in 2008, Yadav was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, which disqualified him from contesting in future elections.
2009:
On 2 April 2009, the Patna High Court denied Yadav’s plea to be permitted to contest the 2009 Indian parliamentary elections due to his murder conviction. Shortly after, on 11 April, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav expelled Pappu Yadav from the party. In his absence, his mother, Shanti Priya, contested the elections on his behalf but lost to Uday Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
2010:
In the 2010 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, Pappu Yadav, along with Anil Yadav and Rampravesh Rai, was expelled from the RJD for alleged anti-party activities. They were accused of undermining the party’s official nominee for the Fatuha Assembly constituency, Ramanand Yadav.
2014:
Yadav was acquitted of the murder charges and subsequently contested the 2014 general elections. He defeated JD(U)‘s Sharad Yadav, securing his position as an MP for the fifth time. His wife, Ranjeet Ranjan, was also elected from the Supaul constituency as a Congress candidate. In 2015, Pappu Yadav was recognized as one of the ‘best performing’ MPs from Bihar due to his notable attendance and active participation in parliamentary debates.
2015:
On 7 May 2015, the RJD expelled Pappu Yadav due to alleged anti-party activities. In response, Yadav founded a new party, the Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik), just before the 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election. He campaigned against the Nitish–Lalu alliance and his party contested 64 seats as part of the Socialist Secular Morcha, aiming to create a third front. However, the Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik) failed to win any seats in the 16th Bihar Assembly.
2019:
In the 2019 elections, Pappu Yadav faced defeat while contesting from the Madhepura constituency under his own party’s banner. He finished in third place, behind Dinesh Chandra Yadav and Sharad Yadav. His wife, Ranjeet Ranjan, also lost her seat, which she had contested from Congress, to Dileshwar Kamait.
2020:
In September 2020, ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Pappu Yadav formed a new alliance called the People Democratic Alliance. This coalition included several parties such as the Bahujan Mukti Party, Social Democratic Party of India, Indian Union Muslim League, and Azad Samaj Party, led by Dalit activist Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, who is also the president of the Bhim Army.
2024:
Pappu Yadav contested the Purnia Lok Sabha seat as an independent candidate and secured victory with a margin of over 23,000 votes. He defeated JDU candidate Santosh Kushwaha and RJD candidate Bima Bharti.
Political Disputes:
Pappu Yadav has been involved in several controversies and legal issues throughout his career.
In 1995, during his tenure as an independent MP, Yadav was allegedly involved in aiding Kim Davy, the prime accused in the Purulia arms drop case, in evading Indian authorities.
In 2008, Yadav was convicted by a special court for his involvement in the 1998 Ajit Sarkar murder case and sentenced to life imprisonment. While imprisoned, he faced controversies, including allegations of holding unauthorized audiences and having unrestricted access to cellphones. However, he was acquitted in 2013 by the Patna High Court, though the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an appeal challenging his acquittal in the Supreme Court.
In his autobiography, Drohkaal ka Pathik, released in November 2013, Yadav claimed that three MPs of the Indian Federal Democratic Party received money from then-Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to join the NDA in 2001. He also alleged that during the July 2008 trust vote, both Congress and BJP had offered “Rs 40 crore each” to MPs for their support.
In 2015, Yadav was again in the spotlight for allegedly threatening a Jet Airways airhostess with slippers.
In June 2020, following the Galwan clash, Yadav and his supporters defaced advertisements and billboards of Chinese companies in Patna.
In May 2021, he was arrested in connection with a 32-year-old kidnapping case and for violating COVID-19 norms. Yadav claimed that his arrest was politically motivated, linked to his criticism of government expenditures in ambulance management during the pandemic.
As of his 2019 election affidavit, Yadav had 31 pending cases against him, a number that increased to 41 by 2024. On 12 April 2023, he was convicted under Sections 147 and 353 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by a special MP/MLA court in Patna. On 24 November 2023, he was convicted under IPC Section 414 by the same court. Yadav has appealed both convictions.