Inside Tej Pratap Yadav's multiverse amid ‘a world of illusions’: Many reel avatars, now a reality show

IT’s only when clever that the top out stars of regional showbiz terminate up in ‘Bhojpuri Bawaal’, a demo focused on following the lives of famous people. Politician Tej Pratap Yadav has made the cut too, and it’s only the latest in his parallel world as a social media phenomenon, in which he carts in all the flavours yet denounces worldliness. “It's my authentic self,” he says. A former Bihar minister and current president of his own party with zero seats in the Vidhan Sabha, Tej Pratap Yadav is no stranger to being followed around. Whether as the eldest son of veteran socialist leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, or as a vlogger with a dizzying array of avatars, “Teju Bhaiya”, as his followers call him, contains multitudes.He is, simultaneously, the mall-hopping guy who loves big cars, the spiritual mind sharing daily thoughts, and a ghostbuster chasing the supernatural amidst the overgrown trees behind his bungalow. Singers and actors Pawan Singh, Nirahua, and Amrapali Dubey are among those who’ll compete for attention with Tej Pratap on the reality show that may be telecast in June.The format is simple: follow participants through their daily lives with no tasks, no eliminations, and no manufactured drama. The promo on JioHotstar Reality's and his Instagram pages showed Tej Pratap seated on high-backed throne-like chair. The caption read: “Batorane aa rahe hain janta ka pyaar, entertainment beshumar.” (Coming to collect people's love, to entertain with no limits.)For Tej Pratap, social media, and now its extension via this show, come at a time when he remains expelled from his father’s party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), over a personal relationship the family did not approve of. There's been some thaw there, but distance remains.Yet his social-media follower count, sitting at 30 lakh-plus across platforms, is hundreds of times more than the 35,000-odd votes he managed to pull as the BJP and JD(U)’s NDA retained power in the state in last year’s elections.“The media only shows fights and politics. But what I eat, how I live, how I interact with people in the villages — that's all there is my vlogs. The public likes this authentic, uncomplicated version of me,” he has said of his online persona.Undeterred by the loss at the ballot, his new Instagram page appeared quietly in March 2026: @santtejpratapyadav. Saffron robes. Rudraksha beads. Videos about Lord Shiva, the meaning of sacred ash, and the impermanence of all earthly things. Tej Pratap was only continuing his own digital folklore that began around 2015, and has not paused since.His politics is turning in the meantimeHis two worlds collided when, in May 2025, a post appeared on Tej Pratap's verified Facebook page featuring a photograph of him with a woman and a claim of a 12-year relationship. Since Tej Pratap was in the middle of a messy divorce, this post went viral within hours.He first claimed his account had been hacked and photographs wrongfully edited. The following day, Lalu Yadav announced his expulsion from the RJD for six years, citing “activities, public conduct and irresponsible behaviour”. A month later, Tej Pratap admitted he had made the post himself and had deleted it under intense family pressure. He spoke of heartbreak too. He went on to form the Janshakti Janta Dal (JJD) in September 2025 and contested the Bihar assembly elections from Mahua, where he finished a distant third.By late May 2026, during a visit to the Vindhyavasini temple in Mirzapur, he told reporters that Yogi Adityanath and the BJP would win the 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections, even dropping hints of a possible alliance with the saffron party. But that’s just the political side of the coin.He explained there too: “I haven’t come here for politics. I have come to the Goddess's Abode to make a vlog. These days, the public doesn't watch TV media; everyone is watching my content on their mobiles."He added a like-share-subscribe appeal: “If you want to see my real lifestyle, come to my social media handles.”‘Hello friends’On his social media handles, politics directly touches barely one or two feeds. On X (formerly Twitter), he has 1.7 million followers as of May 29, 2026, and the register remains mostly political, even combative. Similar is the case with his official Facebook page.Instagram hosts his main lifestyle page plus the new ‘Sant’ page.Where he is closest to being a reality TV star, however, is on ‘TY Vlogs’, and its predecessor ‘LR Vlog’ — the initials standing for his parents, Lalu and Rabri.These channels feature seemingly unscripted glimpses into his world. In one video, he takes viewers on a tour of his family's residential compound, stopping by the shed where cattle feed is stored. Much like his father, he flits between an elite politician and a traditional milkman.Sitting on a low wooden stool to hand-milk a newly arrived cow, he speaks to his videographer: “Arey, angle sahi lo! Camera idhar ghumao, tab na janta ko asli gau seva dikhega!” (Take the right angle! Turn the camera here, only then will the public see real cow service!)Other videos document a train journey aboard the Tejas Express, where he presses the call button for an attendant and reviews his catering meal in the style of a professional food influencer. Then there is a prolonged interrogation of an ice-cream vendor.“Kaun-kaun sa flavour hai tumhare paas? Choco-bar hai?” (‘Which flavors do you have? Do you have choco-bar?’) Tej Pratap speaks to the visibly startled vendor in his trademark drawl, taking the the same vein as his opening lines — “Hello friends”, “Hello guys!” — in typical influencer-speak.Refusing to just buy a single stick on the roadside, he commands the vendor, “Chalo, pura thela leke andar bungalow mein chalo!” asking for the entire cart to be taken into his house. Minutes later, the vlog cuts to the vendor serving his entire security detail behind closed government gates, while Tej Pratap takes a bite on camera and declares to his viewers, taking on the avatar of a food vlogger: “This is a completely original choco-bar. Nothing better than this in the summer heat.”When the older ‘LR’ channel crossed 1 lakh subscribers, he went as far as putting up massive hoardings across Patna to mark the milestone.After the sting of his election loss in November 2025, he launched TY Vlogs, using his own initials. The channel's description promises, “An authentic look into the everyday lifestyle of Tej Pratap Yadav... Bihar's Culture & Heritage, Village Lifestyle & Ground Reality, Travel Vlogs, Local Food & Authentic Experiences.”He leaned into this during a village vlog, where he returned to his ancestral roots. Walking through the lanes, he reminisced: “Phulwaria ki mitti aur bachpan ki yaadein, hamesha dil ke sabse kareeb rehti hain. Yahan humare pita-ji ne sangharsh kiya, sanskar diya... Aaj kal sab temporary hai, par ye mitti permanent hai.” [‘The soil of Phulwaria (in Gopalganj, Bihar) and childhood memories are always closest to the heart. This is where my father struggled and gave us values... Everything is temporary these days, but this soil is permanent.’]Dedicatedly devotionalThough his ‘Sant’ handle is new, religious content is entirely on-brand for Tej Pratap. Back in 2017, while still serving as Bihar's health minister under Nitish Kumar, he appeared at public events dressed elaborately as Lord Krishna.In July 2018, during the holy month of Shravan, news cameras caught him in Lord Shiva costume, skin smeared with ash, offering prayers at a Patna temple before departing for Baba Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar.Later that year, he posted a video of himself standing in a chariot as Arjuna, while a figure of Krishna held the reins. In a matching caption, he described his grand plan to “make Arjun — Tejashwi Yadav — sit on the throne of Hastinapur and go to Dwarka myself.” His younger brother Tejashwi, known for his measured style, is now the undisputed leader of the RJD. Tej Pratap, closer to his father's style of rural nonchalance, has seemingly retreated to his own version of spiritual pursuit, via the @santtejpratapyadav page.Sitting cross-legged in bright saffron robes, heavily adorned with Rudraksha beads and smeared with sacred ash, he delivers sharp, poetic critique of worldly possessions: “Bhasma (ash) toh Shankar ji ka shringar hai, bhai. Is sansar mein sab maya hai. Ek din, sab kuch raakh ho jaana hai. Jab khali haath aaye the, toh khali haath hi jaana hai... Toh ghamand kis baat ka?” [‘Ash is Lord Shiva's adornment. Everything in this world is an illusion. One day, everything will turn to ash. You came here empty-handed, and will leave empty-handed, so why the pride?’]