Anirudh Prasad Yadav, better known as Sadhu Yadav (born 5 July 1967), is an Indian politician and founder of
Garib Janta Dal (Secular). He has served in
14th Lok Sabha
The 14th Lok Sabha (2 June 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian National ...
as MP of
Gopalganj from 2004 to 2009 as
Rashtriya Janata Dal
The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: National People's Party) is an Indian political party, mainly based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The party's support base has traditionally been Other ...
(RJD) candidate. Sadhu was
MLA of
Gopalganj assembly from 2000 to 2004.
Sadhu Yadav is the real brother of Prabhunath Yadav,
Subhash Prasad Yadav and
Rabri Devi. His sister Rabri is married to
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad (born 11 June 1948) is an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Bihar from 1990 to 1997 with a brief interruption in 1995 and as the union minister for Railways from 2004 to 2009. He is the founder and president o ...
, former Railway Minister of India and former Chief Minister of Bihar.
Early life
Sadhu Yadav was born on 5 July 1967 in Salar Kalan village near
Mirganj of
Gopalganj district,
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
. His parents are Shiv Prasad Chaudhary and Maharjia Devi.
Sadhu Yadav has 2 brothers
Subhash Prasad Yadav and Prabhunath Yadav, and 4 sisters
Rabri Devi, Jalebi, Rasgulla and Paan.
Personal life
Sadhu Yadav is married to Indira Devi since 19 June 1986 and the couple have 1 son and 4 daughters.
His daughter Dr Isha Yadav is married to Rahul Yadav, son of Sheela Yadav. Sheela is the sister of
Dharmendra Yadav (former MP of
Badaun).
Political career
1995-2010
As a member of the RJD, Sadhu Yadav was a MLC in
Bihar Legislative Council
Bihar Legislative assembly also known as Bihar Vidhan Parishad is the upper house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature of the state of Bihar in India.
History
A new Province of Bihar and Odisha was created by the Government of India on 12 Decem ...
from 1995 to 1997 and 1998 to 2000 and was also
MLA of
Gopalganj in
Bihar Legislative Assembly
The Bihar Legislative Assembly, also known as the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature of the state of Bihar in India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is ...
from 2000 to 2004. He was elected in
14th Lok Sabha
The 14th Lok Sabha (2 June 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian National ...
as a
Member of Parliament (MP) for the
Gopalganj Lok Sabha constituency.
He left the
RJD after a dispute with his brother-in-law,
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad (born 11 June 1948) is an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Bihar from 1990 to 1997 with a brief interruption in 1995 and as the union minister for Railways from 2004 to 2009. He is the founder and president o ...
, related to the allocation of constituencies between RJD and the
Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). The Gopalganj constituency had become a
reserved seat then and
Prakash Jha
Prakash Jha (born 27 February 1952) is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as ''Hip Hip Hurray (film), Hip Hip Hurray'' (1984), ''Damul'' (1984), ''Mrityudand ...
an LJP candidate, who had lost the election in 2004 from
Bettiah
Bettiah is a city and the administrative headquarters of West Champaran district ( Tirhut Division) - ( Tirhut). It is near the Indo-Nepal border, northwest of Patna, in the state of Bihar, India.
History
In 1244 A.D., Gangeshwar Dev, a B ...
, was preferred for the
Paschim Champaran seat.
Two days after leaving the RJD, in March 2009, Sadhu Yadav joined the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
(INC) and unsuccessfully contested the
Paschim Champaran Lok Sabha constituency and lost to
Sanjay Jaiswal.
2010-Present
In March 2010 he was briefly suspended from the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
for allegedly challenging the party's policy strategy. He denied voicing any such challenge and his explanation was accepted.
Returning to the Gopalganj constituency, Yadav then fought and lost as a candidate for the INC in the
2010 Bihar legislative assembly election
The Bihar legislative assembly election, 2010 was held in six phases over a period of one month starting from 21 October until 20 November in all 243 constituencies of Bihar, India. The election is conducted to elect the government in Bihar for ...
. That election saw confusion regarding the ages of several candidates, including Yadav. The candidates claimed that errors had resulted in the printing process for pre-election affidavits, and in Yadav's case this meant that he was recorded as aged 47 in 2009 when he had been shown as 44 at the time of the 2004 general elections. When asked for clarification by the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in 2009, he claimed to be aged 40.
On 25 March 2014, he announced his candidature for
2014 Lok Sabha elections from
Saran contesting against his sister and ex-Chief Minister of Bihar
Rabri Devi. He stood as an independent candidate. However, he lost the seat to BJP candidate
Rajiv Pratap Rudy. He finished a distant third from the
Barauli assembly seat in 2015 assembly polls by
Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik). He contested the
2019 Indian general election
General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and vote ...
as a BSP candidate from
Maharajganj, but lost to
Janardan Singh Sigriwal.
Criminal cases
Sadhu Yadav has been accused of multiple crimes
Threatening a Senior IAS Officer
In January 2001, Sadhu Yadav, then an MLA from Gopalganj, was accused of forcibly entering the office of Transport Commissioner N.K. Sinha in Patna. Along with armed associates, he allegedly coerced the officer at gunpoint to sign a transfer order for a Motor Vehicle Inspector. An FIR was lodged shortly thereafter. In May 2022, a special court in Patna convicted Sadhu Yadav and sentenced him to three years of simple imprisonment. He was granted bail and appealed the decision.
Shilpi-Gautam Murder Case (1999)
In July 1999, the bodies of Shilpi Jain and Gautam Singh were found in a car inside a government quarter in Patna. The property was linked to Sadhu Yadav.
Police later sent them for postmortem, but declared it a suicide even before the report arrived. The same car was driven to the police station, destroying all potential evidence. Gautam was cremated the same night. Facing political pressure, Chief Minister Rabri Devi handed over the case to the CBI in September 1999.
CBI’s probe revealed Shilpi was allegedly sexually assaulted by multiple people before death, and semen traces were found on her clothes. When asked for a DNA sample, Sadhu Yadav reportedly refused. The DNA test was dropped, and 4.5 years later, the CBI filed a closure report calling it a suicide by poison. Gautam’s brother planned to move the Supreme Court in 2006 but was kidnapped and later never pursued the case again.
Flood Relief Scam (2007)
Sadhu Yadav was also linked to a major flood relief scam in Bihar, where he allegedly received funds from the main accused, Santosh Jha, and sold a vehicle to Jha’s father. His role in the case led to court action and a fresh arrest warrant.
Controversy
The 2003 film ''
Gangaajal'', which is based on true events in Bihar and features a politician character called Sadhu Yadav, caused Yadav's supporters to attack cinemas when it was released. Yadav himself attempted to prevent screening of the film, pleading to the court that it belittled him, but
Prakash Jha
Prakash Jha (born 27 February 1952) is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as ''Hip Hip Hurray (film), Hip Hip Hurray'' (1984), ''Damul'' (1984), ''Mrityudand ...
, the director, claimed that "Sadhu Yadav is just a character in the movie. The movie has nothing to do with the profession of politics nor is it a caricature of the Bihar politician."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yadav, Sadhu
Living people
Bihari politicians
India MPs 2004–2009
Indian National Congress politicians from Bihar
Rashtriya Janata Dal politicians
Members of the Bihar Legislative Council
Crime in Bihar
Lok Sabha members from Bihar
Yadav family (Bihar)
Bahujan Samaj Party politicians from Bihar
1967 births
Bihar MLAs 2000–2005