[5] Pappu Yadav was born on 24 December 1967 in a landowning family in Khurda Karveli village (Kumarkhand block), Madhepura district, Bihar.

He completed graduation in political science from B. N. Mandal University, Madhepura and a diploma in disaster management and human rights from IGNOU.

[7][8] Yadav's entry into the criminal world was facilitated by his maternal uncle, Arjun Singh, a dominant figure in his district, who used to run a parallel government in the area.

Yadav succeeded Singh in his operations and founded the youth organization Yuva Shakti, which allegedly engaged in criminal activities under his leadership.

In the 1991 Indian general election, Yadav won the Purnia Lok Sabha constituency with a significant margin, solidifying his influence in the Kosi region.

[10] On 2 April 2009, the Patna High Court rejected Yadav's plea to be allowed to contest the 2009 Indian parliamentary elections because he had been convicted of murder.

His mother Shanti Priya fought elections in his place, she lost to Uday Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Yadav was allegedly involved in aiding Kim Davy, the prime accused in the Purulia arms drop case, in evading Indian authorities in 1995 during his tenure as an independent MP.

[26][27] In his autobiography Drohkaal ka Pathik, released in November 2013, Pappu Yadav has alleged that three MPs of Indian Federal Democratic Party got money from the then finance minister Yashwant Sinha, to join the NDA in 2001.

[29] In June 2020, Pappu Yadav and his supporters defaced advertisements and billboards of Chinese companies on the streets of Patna, after the Galwan clash.