"Nayi shuruaat, naya prayaas". New beginnings, fresh efforts.
Painted on the gareeb rath, the green coloured mini-bus of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which, after a hectic election campaign, had now come to rest in Lalu Prasad Yadav's sprawling residence, the slogan summarised the astonishing turnaround made by the party and its 67-year-old chief.
Pummelled to just 22 seats in an assembly of 243 in the 2010 elections, the RJD has bounced back to become the single largest party in the house. It has won 80 seats, nine more than Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, its partner in the Grand Alliance. Yadav's political career may have been abruptly terminated by a conviction in the fodder scam in 2013, but two of his sons have made a successful political debut in this election, and might even end up with ministerial posts.
The morning after the victory, however, Yadav wore a look of deep exhaustion. "Every bone in the body is aching," he told the group of journalists who had lined up with interview requests.
Supporters were pouring in, with marigold garlands. Yadav, dressed in a lungi and vest, legs folded up on the chair, acknowledged them mostly with a head-nod, sometimes with a namaste. Only when someone lingered too long did Yadav speak up: "Badhe jaiye bhaiya." Move on, brother.
With some effort, eventually, he raised his voice. "Yeh logon ko mithai khilo." Serve them sweets.
But would sweets be enough to satisfy the party workers and supporters, particularly Yadavs, his caste men, who had been out of power for ten years?
During the campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party had raised the spectre of "Jungle Raj" – a throwback to the 15 years of rule by Yadav and his wife when Bihar had descended into lawlessness, with criminal gangs running free, the government in disarray, and Yadavs cornering benefits and moving from challenging the upper castes to dominating those below them in the village hierarchy.
The victory has, for the moment, silenced the BJP. Responding to reporters after the victory, Yadav's younger son, Tejaswi said: "The results show that people of Bihar have voted for Gareeb Raj and not Jungle Raj."
At the press conference held on Sunday evening, Yadav himself said: "Our government will stand for nyaya aur vikaas (justice and development)."
A different leader
While the truth of the statement will be tested in the time to come, anyone who has observed Yadav over the years would not have failed to notice the change in his political persona. This change has been in no small measure inspired by Nitish Kumar.
In Kumar's first term as chief minister, Yadav may have publicly mocked the epithet of Sushashan Babu that Kumar acquired for his record of good governance, but privately he took a leaf out of Kumar's book. A pragmatic politician, he was quick to discern that the people of Bihar had tired of empty slogans of social justice and wanted political leaders to deliver vikaas. And so, as Railways Minister in the United Progressive Alliance government, he tried to fashion himself as an able administrator. "Lalu ji's image changed as he turned around the railways," said Ashok Singh, the national general secretary of the RJD.
The conviction in the fodder scam in October, 2013, however, put an end to his hopes of remaining a player at the Centre. He could no longer contest elections. His party was reduced to four seats in the Lok Sabha. Yadav was all but written off.
Did he ever lose hope after successive debacles, I asked him. "Never," he said. Before I could slip in another question, however, he got up to leave. "I have to go for a bath," he said. "Come to Maurya Hotel at 11 am. I will be giving interviews there."
Three bungalows down the same road, Kumar had politely turned away the television cameras. But Yadav, whose career had been shaped by his ability to keep the news entertaining, and who had just made a thunderous comeback, saw no reason to keep quiet.
Impetuous and unpredictable
At the hotel, however, things did not go to plan. A fight broke out between the TV crews. Yadav had just sat down for an interview with a news anchor when others loudly protested: "How can you reward someone who was sitting in the lap of Amit Shah?" The anchor was among the few who had been given access to the BJP President during the campaign. How could Lalu give him the first interview, the others said indignantly.
Yadav abruptly stood up, leaving the hotel in a huff. "You journalists fight like cats and dogs," he complained angrily.
For all the new maturity, Yadav remains impetuous as ever. "He does not think before he speaks," goes the common refrain.
During the campaign, his penchant to give quotes and sound bites had kept his allies nervous. Yadav first challenged the BJP on the issue of beef by pointing out that Hindus also eat beef but when the BJP tried to milk the comment, he retracted it, saying, "Shaitan muh mein baith gaya." The devil caught my tongue.
At the very least, Kumar's government will have to stay prepared for potentially embarrassing Laluisms. While Kumar will be the chief minister, Yadav might fancy himself to be the government's chief spokesperson.
Future stresses
Back at his residence, Yadav sat in a sulk, firmly refusing to do any interviews. A spittoon by his side, he received an endless stream of supporters. Some arrived with a band of musicians, others came and bowed silently. Businessmen presented large and expensive bouquets, while humble party workers held out a single red rose. Yadav greeted them without a smile.
At the back of the darbar, two young men sat watching the proceedings. They had come from Raghopur, the pocket borough that has won Lalu's family many elections. As Yadavs, 27-year-old old Pramod Kumar Singh said his family have been old supporters of the RJD. "He [Lalu] made mistakes and stopped interacting with workers," he said. "Tabhi to vote gadbadya. That's why his vote got fractured."
How did ten years of Nitish affect the Yadavs? "We grew weak," he said, but hastened to add: "Nitish ji did good work, not just for his caste men but for all. But we were no longer being heard by government officials who would demand bribes. Nor were we heard by the lower castes. Now we will be heard."
Not just the party's grassroot supporters, the leaders of RJD too are looking forward to the spoils of power. Ordinary MLAs are vying for ministerial posts, while within Yadav's family, there is more than one contender for the post of the deputy chief minister. The older son, Tej Pratap, did not hide his ambition in an interview to NDTV. "The public is king," he said. "If they want me to be a minister, why not? What is wrong in that?"
The younger son, Tejaswi proved his reputation for greater political acumen, as he handled the question of ministership more deftly. He told reporters: "It is for the senior leadership of the party to decide."
It's not just the brothers who are competing to be anointed heir. The oldest sibling, Yadav's daughter Misa, may have contested and lost the Lok Sabha polls, but given the number of interviews she gave on the day of victory, it's evident that she has no plans to stay in the shadows.
The taller leader
On the road outside Yadav's residence, a man asked: "Is this Lalu ji's house?"
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Painted on the gareeb rath, the green coloured mini-bus of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which, after a hectic election campaign, had now come to rest in Lalu Prasad Yadav's sprawling residence, the slogan summarised the astonishing turnaround made by the party and its 67-year-old chief.
Pummelled to just 22 seats in an assembly of 243 in the 2010 elections, the RJD has bounced back to become the single largest party in the house. It has won 80 seats, nine more than Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, its partner in the Grand Alliance. Yadav's political career may have been abruptly terminated by a conviction in the fodder scam in 2013, but two of his sons have made a successful political debut in this election, and might even end up with ministerial posts.
The morning after the victory, however, Yadav wore a look of deep exhaustion. "Every bone in the body is aching," he told the group of journalists who had lined up with interview requests.
Supporters were pouring in, with marigold garlands. Yadav, dressed in a lungi and vest, legs folded up on the chair, acknowledged them mostly with a head-nod, sometimes with a namaste. Only when someone lingered too long did Yadav speak up: "Badhe jaiye bhaiya." Move on, brother.
With some effort, eventually, he raised his voice. "Yeh logon ko mithai khilo." Serve them sweets.
Lalu Prasad Yadav, the morning after the victory. Photo: Supriya Sharma
But would sweets be enough to satisfy the party workers and supporters, particularly Yadavs, his caste men, who had been out of power for ten years?
During the campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party had raised the spectre of "Jungle Raj" – a throwback to the 15 years of rule by Yadav and his wife when Bihar had descended into lawlessness, with criminal gangs running free, the government in disarray, and Yadavs cornering benefits and moving from challenging the upper castes to dominating those below them in the village hierarchy.
The victory has, for the moment, silenced the BJP. Responding to reporters after the victory, Yadav's younger son, Tejaswi said: "The results show that people of Bihar have voted for Gareeb Raj and not Jungle Raj."
At the press conference held on Sunday evening, Yadav himself said: "Our government will stand for nyaya aur vikaas (justice and development)."
One of the many presents brought by supporters to Yadav's house. Photo: Supriya Sharma.
A different leader
While the truth of the statement will be tested in the time to come, anyone who has observed Yadav over the years would not have failed to notice the change in his political persona. This change has been in no small measure inspired by Nitish Kumar.
In Kumar's first term as chief minister, Yadav may have publicly mocked the epithet of Sushashan Babu that Kumar acquired for his record of good governance, but privately he took a leaf out of Kumar's book. A pragmatic politician, he was quick to discern that the people of Bihar had tired of empty slogans of social justice and wanted political leaders to deliver vikaas. And so, as Railways Minister in the United Progressive Alliance government, he tried to fashion himself as an able administrator. "Lalu ji's image changed as he turned around the railways," said Ashok Singh, the national general secretary of the RJD.
The conviction in the fodder scam in October, 2013, however, put an end to his hopes of remaining a player at the Centre. He could no longer contest elections. His party was reduced to four seats in the Lok Sabha. Yadav was all but written off.
Did he ever lose hope after successive debacles, I asked him. "Never," he said. Before I could slip in another question, however, he got up to leave. "I have to go for a bath," he said. "Come to Maurya Hotel at 11 am. I will be giving interviews there."
Three bungalows down the same road, Kumar had politely turned away the television cameras. But Yadav, whose career had been shaped by his ability to keep the news entertaining, and who had just made a thunderous comeback, saw no reason to keep quiet.
Impetuous and unpredictable
At the hotel, however, things did not go to plan. A fight broke out between the TV crews. Yadav had just sat down for an interview with a news anchor when others loudly protested: "How can you reward someone who was sitting in the lap of Amit Shah?" The anchor was among the few who had been given access to the BJP President during the campaign. How could Lalu give him the first interview, the others said indignantly.
Yadav abruptly stood up, leaving the hotel in a huff. "You journalists fight like cats and dogs," he complained angrily.
For all the new maturity, Yadav remains impetuous as ever. "He does not think before he speaks," goes the common refrain.
During the campaign, his penchant to give quotes and sound bites had kept his allies nervous. Yadav first challenged the BJP on the issue of beef by pointing out that Hindus also eat beef but when the BJP tried to milk the comment, he retracted it, saying, "Shaitan muh mein baith gaya." The devil caught my tongue.
At the very least, Kumar's government will have to stay prepared for potentially embarrassing Laluisms. While Kumar will be the chief minister, Yadav might fancy himself to be the government's chief spokesperson.
Future stresses
Back at his residence, Yadav sat in a sulk, firmly refusing to do any interviews. A spittoon by his side, he received an endless stream of supporters. Some arrived with a band of musicians, others came and bowed silently. Businessmen presented large and expensive bouquets, while humble party workers held out a single red rose. Yadav greeted them without a smile.
A supporter brought a band to Yadav's house. Photo: Supriya Sharma.
At the back of the darbar, two young men sat watching the proceedings. They had come from Raghopur, the pocket borough that has won Lalu's family many elections. As Yadavs, 27-year-old old Pramod Kumar Singh said his family have been old supporters of the RJD. "He [Lalu] made mistakes and stopped interacting with workers," he said. "Tabhi to vote gadbadya. That's why his vote got fractured."
How did ten years of Nitish affect the Yadavs? "We grew weak," he said, but hastened to add: "Nitish ji did good work, not just for his caste men but for all. But we were no longer being heard by government officials who would demand bribes. Nor were we heard by the lower castes. Now we will be heard."
Not just the party's grassroot supporters, the leaders of RJD too are looking forward to the spoils of power. Ordinary MLAs are vying for ministerial posts, while within Yadav's family, there is more than one contender for the post of the deputy chief minister. The older son, Tej Pratap, did not hide his ambition in an interview to NDTV. "The public is king," he said. "If they want me to be a minister, why not? What is wrong in that?"
A campaign poster of Tej Pratap Yadav
The younger son, Tejaswi proved his reputation for greater political acumen, as he handled the question of ministership more deftly. He told reporters: "It is for the senior leadership of the party to decide."
It's not just the brothers who are competing to be anointed heir. The oldest sibling, Yadav's daughter Misa, may have contested and lost the Lok Sabha polls, but given the number of interviews she gave on the day of victory, it's evident that she has no plans to stay in the shadows.
The taller leader
On the road outside Yadav's residence, a man asked: "Is this Lalu ji's house?"
His name was Umaid Chandra and he had come all the way from Dehradun in Uttarakhand, boarding the train at Haridwar. He claimed to have no party affiliation. He ran a small business, he said, and was disappointed with the Modi government. Enthused by the Bihar result, he had come to congratulate Nitish Kumar. After wishing Kumar, Chandra thought, why not see Yadav as well.
His party may have won more seats than Kumar's, but Yadav is no longer the main draw. That realisation is unlikely to sit easy in a politician who is still sharp and ambitious.