For decades, Lalu Prasad Yadav was more than a politician; he was a folk hero. To the landless, to the backward castes, and to Bihar's rural heartland, he was a man who spoke their tongue and wore their dust. He styled himself as the protector of the oppressed and the destroyer of elite arrogance. But beneath the rustic charisma lay a shadowed tale of corruption, nepotism, and a political career entangled in courtrooms.
Now, with the President of India giving sanction to prosecute him in the infamous "land-for-jobs" scam, the veneer has once again crumbled.
The Messiah Myth
Rising from the Lohia socialist school, Lalu Prasad’s political career peaked when he became Bihar's Chief Minister in 1990 and later the Union Railway Minister in UPA-I. His fiery anti-upper-caste rhetoric and symbolic defiance of power won him mass appeal. But even as he portrayed himself as the underdog’s champion, he built a political fiefdom centered on his own family, a dynasty of influence masked in populism.
He famously declared, “Railway mein naukri chahiye? Toh zameen de dijiye” (Want a railway job? Then give us land). This wasn’t just a quip. It was a method.
The Corruption Chronicles: 1996 to 2025
Lalu’s brush with the law is not new. In 1996, he was first named in the ₹950-crore fodder scam, where government funds meant for cattle fodder were embezzled. Over the years, he has been convicted in multiple related cases and was jailed as recently as 2018. Yet, his party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), stood by him, portraying his legal troubles as political victimization.
Then came the land-for-jobs scam. It dates back to 2004 to 2009, when Lalu was the Union Railway Minister. According to the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, land parcels were illegally transferred to Lalu’s family members in exchange for Group D jobs in Indian Railways. The land, often sold at throwaway prices, was allegedly registered in the names of his wife Rabri Devi, daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, and associated shell companies.
The ED has linked this to money laundering and filed charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). In March 2023 and April 2024, Tejashwi Yadav, his son and Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister, was also questioned.
A Family Affair
In a state where politics often follows bloodlines, Lalu didn’t just create a party; he built a dynasty. Rabri Devi took over as Bihar’s Chief Minister when he had to resign over the fodder scam. His children — Tejashwi, Tej Pratap, and Misa — have all been given prominent roles in the party. But this tight familial control also became a vehicle for corruption. The current case revolves around jobs allegedly given in exchange for land gifted or sold at undervalued rates to these very relatives.
In August 2023, the ED filed a supplementary chargesheet naming Lalu, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, and eight others. The Delhi PMLA court has already taken cognizance. With the President’s nod, prosecution will now move full steam ahead.
The Fall of an Icon
Lalu once mocked bureaucrats and judges with earthy humour. But the very institutions he jeered now hold the fate of his legacy. After nearly 30 years of political dominance and over 20 years of courtroom drama, the end seems near. His once invincible image has been replaced by court dates, CBI summons, and ED raids.
And yet, the RJD spins a familiar narrative: that of persecution. “This is political vendetta,” said Sanjay Yadav, a senior RJD leader, echoing a line used since the 1990s.
The Irony of It All
There is tragic irony in Lalu’s story. The man who once gave voice to Bihar’s voiceless now faces trial not for fighting the system, but for allegedly rigging it. His mass appeal was rooted in simplicity, but his alleged scams reveal complex webs of deceit.
Lalu Prasad Yadav may still command loyalty, but history might remember him not as a revolutionary, but as a cautionary tale. A tale of how the politics of the poor can be hijacked by those who claim to represent them.
