Bihar elections: How Lalu Yadav is trying to stay relevant

Lalu Prasad Yadav joined the Jaiprakash Narayan movement in Bihar before the Emergency was clamped on June 25, 1975. He was the president of the Patna University Students Union before joining politics. He went to jail for opposing the Emergency, and later, became the youngest Member of Parliament in 1977.

But the upswing of his fortune started after the death of veteran socialist leader Karpuri Thakur. Lalu became the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly in 1989. He became chief minister in the wake of the VP Singh-led Janata Dal wave in the same year. He has appealed to Karpuri Thakur’s social base, comprising the backward classes (BCs), other backward classes (OBCs) and even of some section of the Dalits. His position got further consolidated after he whole-heartedly supported VP Singh's decision to implement the Mandal Commission recommendations. Lalu became a household name, when his government in Bihar made a dramatic arrest of the then BJP star LK Advani when the latter's rath rolled into Bihar in 1990. This boosted his social base further and he became a darling of the minorities.

Also read: Can Nitish make a Modi out of Lalu?

Initially, people like Nitish Kumar, Upendra Kushwaha and Ram Vilas Paswan were part of his party. Here was an Yadav from a poor family, who was accepted by OBCs, BCs, Dalits and minorities alike. The Yadavs of Bihar thought Lalu was one of them. OBCs, BCs and Dalits thought he was championing their causes. The feeling among the minorities was that only Lalu could ensure their safety.

Lalu, during his heydays, had reportedly remarked "Bhura Bal Saaf Karo", meaning finish the upper castes politically. Lalu has always sowed contempt for the upper castes during his rule. So, to the upper castes - comprising mainly the Rajputs, Bhumihars, Kayasths and brahmins, with round 25 per cent of the state’s population - he was a hated figure. Lalu antagonised the upper castes but ensured that a large chunk of the rest of the population supported him.

With such a solid social base Lalu retained power in Bihar for 15 long years. He ruled the state directly between 1990 and 1997 and then indirectly through his wife Rabri Devi, who was the chief minister between 1997 and 2005.

Also read: How BJP is hurting Lalu's Muslim-Yadav formula

With such a strong base, one should have thought that he will spread his wing further and go national. Lalu's first term saw some radical power shifts from the upper to the backward castes. But it soon became apparent that Lalu was working to a definite plan to ensure privileges for his family. Brothers-in-law Sadhu and Subhash Yadav started to play increasingly pivotal political roles. They wielded considerable clout both within the government and in the party. There was a time when the S2 (Sadhu and Subhash Yadav) reigned supreme in Bihar.

Sadhu Yadav was made a member of the Bihar legislative council under the culture quota. He was re-nominated to the council in 1998 and became an MLA from Gopalganj in 2000. Then he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 from the Gopalganj constituency. His younger brother Subash followed Sadhu and became an MLC in 1998. In 2004, he became a Rajya Sabha MP. They brought only disrepute to Lalu. They were so intoxicated by power that they even forced trains like the Rajdhani Express pull up at platforms of their choice, when Lalu was the Railway minister. Their dominance in the party and government led to the exit of almost all prominent leaders from the party. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) became Lalu-Rabri's limited company with big stakes for Rabri's borther Subhash and Sadhu.

Economic development was nowhere on the agenda of Lalu. Whenever he was questioned about the lack of economic development, Lalu used to say that economic development did not get votes. In 2005, When the RJD lost power of Bihar, the state's growth rate was 0.17 per cent while the national average was 9.48 per cent.

Because of Sadhu and Subhash, who became bywords for hooliganism, the state economy was in a mess, the only industry that did thrive was kidnapping industry. This has finally antagonised people. Though he more or less retained his MY(Muslim-Yadav) vote bank, the new social alliance formed by the BJP and the JD(U) became more acceptable. And Lalu's party lost all Assembly and Lok Sabha elections after 2005.

Subsequently, both Lalu and Rabri distanced themselves from Subhash and Sadhu. They felt the brothers’ misdeeds played a key role in their poll defeat. In normal circumstances, this could have lead to widen their hunt for talent for the RJD. But it shrank further. From an extended family now it has narrowed down to Lalu’s own family. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Lalu gave ticket to his daughter Misa from Patliputra. Ram Kripal Yadav, a major leader of his community, severed his four-decade-old association with Lalu and defeated her on a BJP ticket.

Both Lalu's sons - Tej Pratap and Tejaswi - are also actively engaged in politics. Tej Pratap is getting ready to contest the Assembly elections from Mahua. Tejaswi is set to contest from Raghopur, the seat once held by his mother Rabri Devi. There are also reports that Misa may enter the fray from either Maner or Danapur.

Now Tejaswi and Tej Pratap are firmly in control of the RJD. Misa helps them in running it. When Lalu introduced their sons in a Patna rally, Nitish Kumar jokingly said, "The rally is for change in leadership, from S2 to T2." With the firm grip of his children on his party, the transformation of Lalu, the socialist leader, to Lalu a family leader is complete.