Lalu’s absence may weigh on RJD's dealings with allies

Lalu Prasad’s conviction in the second fodder scam case may make it tough for his Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party to claim its rightful part in any national-level move towards opposition unity.

Although Lalu has already established son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as his successor within the RJD, the young leader may still have to master the skill and acumen that his father has displayed for decades in dealing with political allies, including on candidate selection and seat-sharing arrangements. Lalu had developed an art of his own to collect feedback across the political spectrum through his interaction with common people who would meet him at his residence in Patna. Besides, he is known for his own style of politics and his relations with regional leaders, including former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

Within the party, though, Tejashwi seems to have established aspace for himself. Perhaps, Lalu had an inkling of the challenges approaching him that he had started work on transferring party functions to Tejashwi right after the RJD’s good show in the 2015 Bihar assembly polls.


Recently, RJD’ national council decided to project Tejashwi as the party’s face in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Tejashwi’s first speech in the state assembly as the leader of the opposition had also enhanced Lalu’s confidence in him. After JDU’s decision to walk out of the grand alliance, of which the RJD and Congress were also members, Tejashwi toured almost every part of the state and tried to target Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Lalu’s strategy was quite clear there: he wanted to project the political battle as Nitish Vs Tejashwi.