Lalu Prasad Yadav Birthday: The boy selling village-to-village by loading milk on a broken bicycle is one of the most talked about names of Indian politics today. This story is a leader whose political journey started from Tabele and reached the chair of the Chief Minister of Bihar. Whose colloquial style, laughter and despity influenced not only Bihar but also the people of every state across the country.
This is the story of Lalu Prasad Yadav, which is an example of politics today because if the intentions are strong and the association with the public is deep and true, then anyone can reach ‘zero’ from ‘peak’.
A shepherd, a student leader
Lalu Prasad Yadav was born on 11 June 1948 in Phulwaria village of Gopalganj district of Bihar. His family was very weak financially. His father was a farmer who used to do farming only in the village and worked in Tabele. Since childhood, Lalu saw poverty very closely. He completed his education in Patna University. He graduated in political science and took his first step in student politics. In the 1970s, when Jayaprakash Narayan’s ‘entire revolution’ movement took place, Lalu took part in it. During this movement, he became very famous among the public and got recognition as a struggling young leader.
First step in politics?
In 1977, at the age of 29, Lalu Prasad Yadav won the Lok Sabha elections from Chhapra and took the first step in Parliament. This was the time after Emergency, when the public was struggling against the Congress. Lalu won on Janata Party ticket and became one of the youngest MPs in Parliament. In politics, his desi style, attendance and direct dialogue with the public kept him very different from others. Lalu used to speak in the language of the general public, which led to his popularity in the poor and rural sections very fast.
Name emerging in Bihar politics
Lalu became MLA in the 1980 and 1985 assembly elections and re -entered the Lok Sabha in 1989. This year, he prepared a strong base of Janata Dal in Bihar. He emerged as a leader who was very famous among the backward classes, especially Yadav and the Muslim community. Lalu’s politics focused on ‘social justice’. He gave the slogan – “Clean brown hair”, which clearly meant that Brahmins, Bhumihar, Rajput and Kayastha destroy the domination of all these upper castes. At that time this slogan became a disputed statement for his opponents, but backward classes supported it openly.
Travel to Chief Minister’s chair …
In 1990, the Janata Dal won the big win in the Bihar assembly elections. Two names as Chief Minister were Ram Sundar Das and the other Lalu Yadav. Party MLAs approved Lalu’s name with an overwhelming majority. After that, on 23 March 1990, Lalu Prasad Yadav was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time. It was a historic moment for Lalu at that time because for the first time a Yadav leader was sitting in power in Bihar. Earlier, most upper castes were dominated by power. Lalu addressed his government as the ‘government of the poor’. He ordered the officials to meet the public directly and herself took to the road and heard all the complaints of the public.
Mandal Commission and Messiah of OBC politics
The year of 1990 became even more important due to the recommendations of the Mandal Commission in Indian politics. When Prime Minister V.P. Singh announced to give 27% reservation to OBC, then it was strongly opposed across the country. But Lalu Yadav openly supported it in Bihar. He said- “Those who oppose the Mandal Commission do not really want to give their rights to the poor.” This increased their popularity among the OBC class even more.
Win Lalu’s victory
In the 1995 assembly elections, Lalu won a major victory for RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) on his own. He prepared the formula of ‘Mai Equation’ (M – Muslim, Y– Yadav), which was the most influential in Bihar politics for years.
Lalu used to say –‘I will give bread to the hungry, I will teach and write, I will get the rights to the Dalits and the back.’
Their rallies used to be a fair, people used to come not only to listen to them, but also to see them. At that time, he looked less, star more.
Fall started from here
In 1996, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s name came to light in the fodder scam. The scam took place in the Animal Husbandry Department of Bihar, where crores of rupees were withdrawn through fake bills. In 1997, the CBI filed a case against Lalu. Meanwhile, he separated from the Janata Dal and formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and put his wife Rabri Devi on the Chief Minister’s chair. This step was surrounded by heavy criticisms, but described it as the path of ’empowering women’. Although the fodder scam caused a very serious harm to his image, his staunch supporters did not leave him.
Started firmly even after the crisis
In the 2005 elections, Nitish Kumar dropped Lalu Yadav out of power, but even after this Lalu’s influence did not end completely. In the year 2004, he received the charge of Railway Minister at the Center and surprised everyone by bringing Indian Railways in profit. His strategies were taught as a case study in institutions such as Harvard and IIM. He said- “I have also brought up the railway like a cow, as in childhood, cows were reared in Tabel.”
Even today there are ‘Kingmaker’ of politics
Lalu had to go to jail several times after being found guilty in the fodder scam, but he did not leave politics even today. Today his son Tejashwi Yadav is commanding RJD, but Lalu is still playing the role of a guide. He once again became a topic of discussion in the Lok Sabha elections held in 2024, as he played a big role in the opposition alliance (India). His political understanding and experiences are still seen as the biggest strength of the opposition camp.
Lalu is not a leader, but a movement
Lalu Prasad Yadav is not just a leader, but he is a thinking. He raised the voice of the society in Bihar, which was suppressed for centuries. His politics may have been surrounded by controversy, but it would not be right to ignore it even today that he has given a new dimension to Indian democracy. This story from ‘Tabelle to throne’ still inspires millions of people that whatever the difficulty, if there is a passion for public service in the heart, then no place is impossible.
Finally, read a famous dialogue of Lalu which he often speaks in his speech:
“There is no small or big in politics… Whatever the public wants, he becomes a king!” This is the biggest reason that the boy selling milk on a broken bicycle, one day became the emperor of the politics of Bihar …
