Just days ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) finds itself mired in controversy after a shocking video from Patna went viral. In the footage, Madan Shah, an RJD leader from Madhuban, is seen rolling on the ground, tearing his kurta, and sobbing uncontrollably outside former chief minister Rabri Devi’s residence, claiming he was denied a party ticket because he refused to pay ₹2.7 crore.
Visibly distressed, Shah accused senior RJD leader Sanjay Yadav of demanding the hefty amount in exchange for the party symbol.
“Sanjay Yadav asked me for ₹2.7 crore for the ticket. When I refused, they gave it to someone else!” Shah alleged in tears.
The emotional outburst quickly went viral, sparking outrage among RJD supporters and political rivals alike. Shah’s anguish didn’t stop there — he accused Tejashwi Yadav of arrogance and said the party had “forgotten its loyal workers.”
“Tejashwi is very arrogant, he doesn’t meet people. They are distributing tickets by taking money. Sanjay Yadav is doing all this. I have come here to die. Lalu Yadav is my guru, he promised me a ticket, but they betrayed me,” Shah told ANI outside Rabri Devi’s 10, Circular Road residence.
Recalling his long association with the RJD, Shah said he had been a loyal worker since the 1990s and had even sold his land to support the party.
“In 2020, Lalu ji called me to Ranchi and said that Madan Shah would win from Madhuban. I trusted his word. I have worked for this party for decades. I am a poor man, I even sold my land for the RJD,” he said.
Shah had contested the 2020 Assembly elections on an RJD ticket but lost by around 2,000 votes. He claimed he had been camping in Patna for several days, hoping for a ticket this time, but was “ignored and replaced by an outsider.”
As the video of his breakdown circulates widely on social media, opposition leaders have seized the moment to attack the RJD. The BJP called the incident “a proof of RJD’s corruption and ticket-sale culture,” while insiders in the Mahagathbandhan fear it could tarnish the alliance’s image ahead of polling.
