Actor-politician Khesari Lal Yadav gets notice over 'illegal' construction

The Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) in the suburbs of Mumbai has issued a notice to Bhojpuri actor-singer Khesari Lal Yadav, who is currently contesting the Bihar Assembly polls on a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) ticket, over alleged illegal construction at his residence in Mira Road, officials confirmed on Thursday.

According to the MBMC, the notice concerns the “unauthorised installation of iron angles and a tin-sheet shed” at Yadav’s home. “The owner has been directed to remove these illegal additions. If not, the encroachment department will act as per municipal laws, and demolition will be undertaken at the owner’s cost,” an MBMC official was quoted as saying in media reports.

Residents in the area said the house has remained locked for weeks, with many adding that Yadav’s family has gone to Bihar to join his election campaign — one that has become a social-media phenomenon.

Yadav is contesting the Chapra Assembly seat, held by the BJP’s C.N. Gupta since 2015. Though a political novice, the Bhojpuri superstar has managed to rattle the BJP’s well-oiled campaign machine through an unusually emotive and populist pitch. His rallies, drawing tens of thousands, blend fiery rhetoric with folksy humour and personal storytelling.

He frequently accuses the BJP of betraying the poor and the migrant working class, saying the party has “taken their votes and given them unemployment and insults in return”.

Part of Yadav’s appeal lies in his own improbable rise. Before fame and cinema, he was a launda naach performer — a traditional role in which men dance in women’s attire on festive occasions. The right-wing online ecosystem had long mocked him for this, using the term launda (young boy) as a slur. Yadav has since reclaimed the label with defiance, turning it into a badge of pride. “Yes, I danced for my survival — and today I dance on the lies of those in power,” he declared at a recent rally, earning thunderous applause.

His campaign videos — often shot in the grainy, handheld style of Bhojpuri music videos — have gone viral for their raw candour and anti-establishment energy, resonating particularly with Bihar’s vast diaspora and youth voters.

While Yadav could not be reached for comment on the Mira Bhayander notice, RJD leaders have brushed it off as a “routine civic action being cynically amplified”. However, the timing has raised eyebrows, coming as the actor’s insurgent campaign continues to unsettle the BJP in its stronghold.

Whether Khesari’s celebrity-fired populism translates into votes remains to be seen — but in the meantime, the man once mocked for his launda naach act is now giving Bihar’s ruling party an unexpectedly hard dance to match.

With PTI inputs