Patna: After six years of political exile, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former chief minister of Bihar, addressed two public meetings ahead of the by-polls for two assembly seats on October 30 in the state. What has been clearly visible is that, despite his long absence from the scene, Lalu Yadav still continues to hold sway among the crowds.On October 27, the last day of campaigning, he addressed two public meetings in Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly constituencies. As he spoke, in his inimitable style of using political rhetoric with a touch of witticism, the milling crowds jostled with each other to get a closer glimpse of their leader. “Lalu Zindabad,” echoed in the air. Though his tone was milder, owing to his poor health, he still managed to connect with the public.The RJD president was convicted in the fodder scam and had been in jail from 2018 to April this year. He was later moved to a hospital in Ranchi after his health began deteriorating. After he was released from jail in April, he has been staying with his daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharati in Delhi.He returned to Patna on October 24 and his campaign schedule was hurriedly prepared after getting a nod from the doctors who have been treating him.Also read: 44 Years in Politics, Yet Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Relevance in Bihar Remains UndiminishedOn October 27, the last day of the campaign, he participated in public meetings in Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan.At Ghazipur middle school ground in the Tarapur assembly segment under the Munger district, he addressed the crowds for just 15 minutes and viciously attacked chief minister Nitish Kumar.“In the 2015 assembly election, we [RJD] got more seats, so I could have easily made Tejashwi chief minister, but we didn’t do so. I made Nitish Kumar the chief minister. Everyone knows what he did after that,” he said.“In 2015, Nitish had said that he would go with those who support special status to Bihar. We supported him, but he later joined hands with BJP. Because of his such habits, I call him Palturam,” Lalu said to a cheering crowd.RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav at a public rally in Bihar on October 27, 2021. Photo: Facebook.The ground was packed with jubilant people chanting ‘Lalu Zindabad’ slogans. The area was teeming with people and some managed to get onto the roof of school buildings. The milling crowds jostled with each other to get closer to the dias to get a glimpse of their leader, and some in the process broke barricades made of bamboo.Nidhi Shri, a journalist who covered the Tarapur public meeting, told The Wire, “The crowd was huge. Most of the people who had come to the rally were die-hard fans of Lalu Prasad Yadav and wanted to a glimpse of him.”“People were expecting to see Lalu Yadav of the 1990s, which can be considered his heydays, but this time around his tone was mild due to his health. Despite that, the public was still excited to see him,” she added.JD(U) had been winning the Tarapur seat from 2010 until the 2020 assembly elections when Mewalal Chaudhary of the JD (U) bagged the segment with a margin of 7,225 votes. RJD secured the second position. However, Chaudhary succumbed to COVID-19 in April this year, necessitating a by-election.A big chunk of voters in the Tarapur assembly belongs to the Kushwaha community. But Yadav, Muslim and Vaishya voters together exceed Kushwahas. Banking on the Kushwaha vote bank, JD(U) fielded Rajiv Kumar Singh, a Kushwaha.On the other hand, the RJD has fielded Arun Shah who belongs to the Vaishya community. The RJD is banking on Muslim, Vaishya and Yadav votes. The Congress and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) have fielded candidates from the Brahmin and Rajput communities respectively.Kusheshwar AsthanIn Kusheshwar Asthan, which is in the Darbhanga district, Lalu addressed a public meeting at the Jhakhra middle school ground.He drew people’s attention to how the GST (Goods and Services Tax ) and demonetisation had impacted the common man, directing his criticism at BJP. He said, “COVID-19 has killed one lakh people. Those who went to hospitals died. Only quacks treated people and saved their lives…”Since Dalit votes are decisive in Kusheshwar Asthan, Lalu spoke at length about welfare schemes he had initiated during his term as chief minister.“I had given the slogan that herdsmen and labourers should get education. No one can snatch the rights from backward communities which I had given,” he said.He further said, “Now schools have been closed and online education is being given, but how would people from villages understand online education. This way future generations will remain uneducated.” He attacked chief minister Nitish Kumar for his comment that Lalu might get him killed with a gun.“I had said that Tejashwi Yadav uprooted Nitish Kumar and I will perform visarjan. But Nitish didn’t understand the meaning of visarjan and cried that I may shoot him. He is a coward. I know him well.”RJD leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav at a public rally in Bihar on October 27. Photo: Facebook.Launching a scathing attack on the BJP’s misgovernance resulting in rising inflation, he said, “Mustard oil price is skyrocketing. Modi disturbed the public through demonetisation, and is implementing faulty GST. Modi didn’t fulfil the promise of transferring Rs 15 lakh to the bank accounts of people.”“It was our government at the Centre which had brought the food security scheme, but now people are not getting pulses at PDS [public distribution system] outlets. The government itself is consuming all the pulses meant for the public,” he said.Nand Kishor Pandey, a local social worker, told The Wire, “The crowd was unexpected. It was so huge that the road leading to the school was jam-packed up to six to seven kilometres.”“Public had gathered just to have a glimpse of Lalu Prasad Yadav as he went out of electoral politics and didn’t address a single public meeting in the last six years,” said Pandey.Also read: Dignifying Democracy in Bihar: Lalu Prasad Yadav, Social Justice and EqualityKusheshwar Asthan is the Musahar-majority assembly segment. Keeping the caste equation in mind, RJD has fielded Ganesh Bharti, who belongs to the Musahar community. Meanwhile the JD(U) is banking on Paswan voters, which is the second-largest vote bank after the Musahars. JD(U) has fielded Aman Hazari, who is the son of the late Shashi Bhushan Hazari and comes from the Paswan community.LJP has given its ticket to Anju Devi who is also from the Paswan community, whereas the Congress has fielded Atirek Kumar who belongs to the Ravidas community.In the 2020 assembly elections, the grand alliance of the RJD and Congress fielded a Congress candidate from the Kusheshwar Asthan seat, but it lost the segment to the JD(U) with a winning margin of 7,222 votes. Shashi Bhushan Hazari, who won the seat, succumbed to Hepatitis B on July 1, 2021, necessitating a by-election.This time around, RJD has decided to fight from both the Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan seats. The Congress party generally considered Kusheshwar Asthan as its traditional seat, and the fact that RJD decided to field its candidate irked the grand old party.Later, Congress has also announced that it will also fight from both seats aggressively and fielded its own candidates.A few days ago Bhakta Charan Das, Bihar in-charge of Congress, had said that the Congress was not part of the grand alliance. This created a tug of war between the Congress and RJD, but surprisingly in both the public meetings Lalu Prasad Yadav didn’t attack the Congress.Instead, before heading for public meetings, Lalu Yadav told the media that he had spoken to Sonia Gandhi, who inquired about his health. He also said that they discussed stitching an alliance of like-minded parties.According to RJD leaders, Lalu Prasad Yadav still has the charm to impress voters, which is why he was roped in even at the last moment.“Apart from caste equation and misrule of Nitish Kumar, we are also banking on Lalu Yadav’s popularity which has potential to turn the wave in our favour,” an RJD leader, who wished not to be named, told The Wire.
