Revision as of 20:20, 30 July 2017

Lalu Prasad Yadav: Biographical highlights; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Biographical highlights

The Times of India, Nov 09 2015

Can't contest for 11 years but Lalu wins match for Nitish

Despite an uncertain future following his conviction in the fodder scam (he's currently out on bail), Lalu proved in 2015 that he remains one of the principal poles of Bihar politics. This even though his conviction renders him ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years after he finishes serving the five-year sentence. This election was yet another milestone in the life of the cow herd who has exploited his caste identity , inimitable communication skills and political cunning to craft an odds-defying political career.

His street smartness became evident when he moved from his village to live in the frugal peons' quarters of Patna Veterinary College, where his brothers were employed. He soon became a successful student leader. Lalu's ideological moorings were not that strong, but he more than made up for that with his flamboyance and people skills. On March 18, 1974, when police fired upon student protesters leading to several deaths, Lalu declared himself dead. He passed on the “information“ to newspaper offices, besides telling milkmen to spread the word about the death of a “prominent Yadav leader“. Tthe episode helped him create curiosity about himself, Lalu admitted.

Imprisonment during Emergency--he named his first child Misa because he had been detained under Maintenance of Internal Security Act--lent him a seriousness that many thought he had lacked till then. It also propelled him to Lok Sabha in 1977.

He lost the LS election in 1980 and 1984, but won the So nepur assembly seat in consecutive elections. The untimely demise of socialist giant Karpoori Thakur in 1988 helped Lalu become leader of opposition: a breakthrough achieved with the help of Nitish Kumar. He got elected to LS in 1989 but his heart was set on Patna. The 1990 state elections saw Janata Dal eking out a narrow victory, and Lalu became CM.

His unconventional style created ripples. He would land in government offices for what he called “auchak nirikshan“ or “surprise inspections“, and summon fire tenders to hose mud-caked kids in Dalit `bastis'. Even as bureaucrats tried to come to terms with the man who found files a pain and was more comfortable sitting cross-legged in lungi and khadi vest with the ubiquitous spittoon not far away , Lalu caught the imagination of the masses, Yadavs as well as OBCs.

The excitement was about to wear thin when Devi Lal fell out with V P Singh. But Lalu and other Tau proteges like Nitish switched support to V P Singh in exchange for his commitment to implemen the Mandal Commission re port. This established him as the leader of OBCs. The sup port of OBCs and Muslims helped him sweep the 1991 LS elections and, later, survive the revolt by Nitish. He won the 1995 state elections on his own steam and seemed set to realise his aspiration to be PM after the 1996 LS polls when the fodder scam derailed him.

He lost the 2005 state polls and was routed in the 2009 LS polls and 2010 assembly polls as well. His conviction and disqualification from contesting polls, the defeat of his wife and daughter in the 2014 LS polls and the issue of who should succeed him pulled him down.

He appeared to be at an existential crossroad until Nov 2015 when he emerged as the single largest player and took credit for the “coronation“ of “chhota bhai“ Nitish as CM.

Ill-gotten assets

Cattle-shed worker `gifted' Rabri land worth Rs 31 lakh

Rabri's cattle-shed worker `gifted' her land worth Rs 31 lakh: Sushil Modi, June 7, 2017: The Times of India

`Benami Assets Used To Convert Black Money'

Leader of opposition in the Bihar legislative council Sushil Kumar Modi alleged that former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi had been gifted a 1,088sqft land near Saguna Mor valued at Rs 30.9 lakh on January 25, 2014, by Lalan Choudhary , an employee of a cattle shed run by her family , in order to convert their black money.

Furnishing documents, the senior BJP member claimed that Choudhary , a resident of Barharia block in Siwan, bought the land along with a house for Rs 3.90 lakh on March 30, 2009, from one Rameshwar Prasad Yadav.

Five years later, the same land was gifted to RJD chief Lalu Prasad's wife when its value had risen to Rs 30.90 lakh, Modi said.

Modi, who has held 20 press conferences in the last two months to expose the benami properties of the Lalu clan, questioned the purpose of gifting the land to Rabri.

He quoted a clause from documents related to transfer of land, which stated, “The donor (Choudhary) is very close to the done (Rabri) for a long time and the done is also financially helping and rendering service to him for a long time and therefore the donor disclosed his intense desire to gift his said property .“ “What kind of financial aid was Rabri providing to Choudhary that he gifted such a high-value land to her? Why did he agree to suffer a loss of Rs 27 lakh while gifting the land to Rabri?“ Modi asked on the sidelines of his weekly ja nata darbar.

“Rabri purchased the land at undervalued price in the name of Choudhary using her black money and got it gifted to herself after five years,“ he said.

Modi, a former Bihar deputy CM, asked Lalu's family to disclose the actual identity of Choudhary and the purpose of gifting the land to Rabri.

“The modus operandi of the Lalu family is to acquire benami properties at throwaway prices,“ Modi said.

He had earlier accused Lalu of acquiring properties from former RJD MPs Raghunath Jha and Kanti Singh in lieu of offering them ministerial berths.