Meet Lalu Prasad Yadav’s maithili speaking negotiator, Bhola Yadav

By Sanjay Singh

PATNA: Delhi may be familiar with RK Dhawan, Indira Gandhi’s secretary who acquired political clout, but in Bihar his equivalent answers to the name of Bhola Yadav, RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s aide whose fortunes are on the rise.

That Prasad handed over several assignments to 53-year-old Bhola Yadav before he underwent a major heart surgery in August 2014 is testimony to the trust he has in his aide. But Prasad also had a gift before his departure to the hospital: At the airport, when his aide asked for the party nominee to the Bihar Legislative Council poll, Prasad told him, “you be the candidate.” Thus elected unopposed as MLC, Yadav is RJD’s nominee for the Bahadurpur seat in Darbhanga now.

Bhola Yadav is like a shadow to the ex-CM couple. His routine begins early when he reaches Prasad’s official residence and he remains engaged till late night. The Maithilispeaking Yadav is a post-graduate in mathematics from Magadh University and was a teacher in a college in Fatuha, near Patna, when he met Prasad, in 1992.

“There was a cooperative society for allotment of land to MPs and MLAs. Laluji tasked Bhola to ensure proper allotment,” a RJD leader recalled. But he became indispensable for Prasad only when he started facing legal cases by 1996. “Laluji tasked Bhola to select good lawyers for different courts, including Ranchi and Delhi,” another source said. His growing proximity saw him being made private secretary to Rabri Devi, who replaced Prasad as chief minister.

When Prasad became Union railway minister, “Bhola contributed to Lalu’s image makeover”, another source recalled and added, “Bhola has several good qualities which Lalu need to manage his party affairs. He never crosses the limit.” With exit of Prasad’s brothers-in-law from RJD, Yadav emerged RJD’s key negotiator for seat-sharing. “It was he who helped Lalu identify seats fit for RJD,” he said. Even if that’s an exaggeration, it speaks for the esteem Yadav enjoys in RJD.