Patna, June 25 (IANS) In a surprising shift from politics to aviation, Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, has taken a significant step towards becoming a commercial pilot.

The Directorate of Flight Training has recently declared him among 18 successful candidates eligible to enroll in a commercial pilot license course.

Tej Pratap will now be enrolled at the Bihar Aviation Institute, marking a new chapter in his personal and professional journey.

Sources have said that he will soon start the training after all formalities are completed.

Known for his unconventional political style and flamboyant personality, Tej Pratap has long expressed an interest in aviation.

Tej Pratap’s fascination with flying isn’t new.

Earlier this year, during ‘Operation Sindoor’ — India’s military response to the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam — he posted photos of himself wearing a pilot’s uniform on social media platform X.

Tej Pratap in a post on X said that if his aviation training could serve the nation, he was “ready at all times” to contribute.

This social media post stirred controversy and mixed reactions in political circles, as many questioned the timing and intent behind the display.

Later, he shared another image of himself inside an aircraft cockpit, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offering his services to “protect Mother India”.

Tej Pratap had earlier appeared for interviews and assessments for both Private Pilot License and Commercial Pilot License courses, successfully clearing the process.

He now has the official green signal to pursue the commercial training module.

However, his political career has recently been clouded by internal party issues.

He was expelled from the RJD and ostracised from Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family for six years, following a viral social media post suggesting an alleged relationship with a woman named Anushka Yadav.

Tej Pratap later denied the claims, asserting that his Facebook account had been hacked.

With this step towards a career in aviation, Tej Pratap appears to be exploring a parallel identity beyond politics, perhaps as a symbolic break from the recent controversies and familial tensions.

The pilot license programme adds another twist to the already dynamic and dramatic narrative of the Yadav political family ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections scheduled to take place later this year.

–IANS

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