Father, son, and the spectre of ‘jungle raj

Lalu Prasad was re-elected arsenic the nationalist president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for the 13th consecutive clip connected June 24, 2025. No 1 other has held this station successful the 28-year-old party. At 77 and battling persistent wellness issues, Mr. Lalu is nary longer astatine the centre of progressive politics, but helium remains the party’s mascot, 1 who keeps some the RJD afloat and weighs it down successful adjacent measure.

On March 10, 1990, Mr. Lalu took oath arsenic the 25th Chief Minister of Bihar — the archetypal to beryllium sworn successful extracurricular the Raj Bhavan successful Patna. Though lone 42 astatine the time, helium had been successful authorities for much than a decade, winning 4 large elections: 2 presumption successful Parliament (1977 and 1989) and 2 successful the Bihar Legislative Assembly (1980 and 1985).

At the sprawling Gandhi Maidan successful Patna, a hopeful assemblage looked connected arsenic Mr. Lalu took the oath of office. In the archetypal months of his regime, the state watched with fascination arsenic Mr. Lalu conducted astonishment inspections astatine schools and offices, publically rebuked bureaucrats, shared meals with the poor, directed postulation with a megaphone successful hand, and held Cabinet meetings similar a chaupal (village meetings held successful a courtyard). He built for himself a constituency of the backward classes that had been inching towards powerfulness but remained acold excessively fragmented to prehend it.

To many, helium was a governmental Robin Hood, robbing the Swarna (upper castes) of their dependable and lending it to the mediocre and marginalised. Derecognising Maithili arsenic an authoritative connection was 1 specified measurement arsenic helium viewed it arsenic a “Sanskritised Brahminical tongue”, adjacent though it was the lingua franca of northbound Bihar. Mr. Lalu upended the existing governmental order, ostensibly to rebuild it on much egalitarian lines. And helium did. Inequality, however, is endemic, a seemingly inescapable diagnostic of quality life, and thus, a caller elite took the spot of the old.

Bihar is nary longer the State that Mr. Lalu erstwhile ruled, nor is helium the aforesaid person, who sat successful the Chief Minister’s chair. Mr. Lalu follows a regular of 14 pills a time and shuttles betwixt infirmary and home. His wellness remains precarious since undergoing a kidney transplant successful December 2022. The State, meanwhile, finds itself caught successful a dichotomy of hyperpolitical consciousness and years of economical neglect. Mr. Lalu whitethorn nary longer beryllium astatine the helm, but his shadiness continues to loom implicit the State’s governmental firmament.

It has been 2 decades since Mr. Lalu’s rule, straight and done his wife, Rabri Devi, ended successful November 2005. An full procreation of voters has not seen either of them arsenic Chief Minister, and yet stories of their alleged misrule endure. The State has witnessed 4 Assembly elections since then, but the complaint against the RJD, of being the propagators of “jungle raj”, remains unchanged.

On January 18, 2025, anticipating Mr. Lalu’s absence, his younger son, Tejashwi Yadav, was handed the baton of leadership. While Mr. Lalu remains the nationalist president of the RJD, Mr. Tejashwi has been entrusted with powers equivalent to that of the enactment chief. This determination simply formalised an statement that had already been successful place. Mr. Tejashwi was already functioning arsenic the de facto president of the party.

There are galore accounts of however the word “jungle raj” originated. In 1 mentation that Mr. Lalu himself recounts successful his autobiography Gopalganj to Raisina-My Political Journey, co-written with writer Nalin Verma, helium traces the operation backmost to his archetypal word successful bureau erstwhile helium went astir “cleansing the vestiges of exploitation”. One specified awesome of the aged bid was the verdant Patna Golf Course, dispersed implicit astir 200 acres on the leafy Bailey Road. The people was nether the power of the Gymkhana Club, established successful 1916 by the British, and was accessible to a constricted fig of “urban elite”. However, onshore records showed that the onshore belonged to the State government. Mr. Lalu initiated a determination for the authorities to instrumentality implicit the Golf Club and person it into a safari parkland for the lions and tigers confined successful the adjacent Patna Zoo. “I thought if the mediocre and hard-working radical had nary entree to the Golf Club, wherefore should the constricted fig of members of the elite person it? It was amended to nexus it to the zoo truthful that astatine slightest the animals could roam astir freely.” There was an contiguous backlash. “They blasted maine for resorting to dictatorship, and they said I had brought successful jungle raj successful Bihar.” The Golf Club remains arsenic Mr. Lalu did not spell up with the decision.

The other, and possibly the much popular, mentation of the communicative is that the word was archetypal utilized by the Patna High Court successful August 1997.

In the 1995 Assembly election, the Janata Dal won 164 seats successful the 324-member Bihar Assembly, securing a bulk of its own. The electorate had agreed nether the slogan “Vote Lalu ka, raj humara” (Vote for Lalu, and the regularisation volition beryllium ours). This marked the archetypal clip immoderate incumbent Chief Minister had secured a 2nd consecutive word since the interminable tenure of Shri Krishna Sinha, who died successful bureau successful January 1961. Between Mr. Sinha and Mr. Lalu, Bihar saw 23 Chief Ministers and 5 spells of President’s Rule. None of those Chief Ministers completed a afloat term, with their tenures ranging from conscionable 4 days to three-and-a-half years.

In a fragmented Janata Dal, Mr. Lalu outstripped each different leaders. Thus, his elevation connected January 29, 1996, to the station of nationalist president of the Janata Dal did not instrumentality anyone by surprise. However, what was not truthful evident was the opening of his downfall, which astir coincided with his coronation. While helium exulted successful his caller role, backmost location successful Patna, investigations into allegations of excess money withdrawals from assorted branches of the government’s Animal Husbandry Department had begun. In June 1997, Bihar Governor A.R. Kidwai granted support to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to complaint the Chief Minister. The knives were retired for him successful the Janata Dal and the chorus seeking his resignation arsenic nationalist president grew louder.

Instead of stepping down, Mr. Lalu divided the party. The predetermination for the station of enactment president was owed successful July and Sharad Yadav decided to contention against him. Mr. Lalu tried to person Mr. Sharad Yadav to basal down, adjacent offering to resign from the Chief Minister’s station if helium was allowed to clasp the station of enactment president. That was not to be. Consequently, Mr. Lalu walked retired with 18 of the party’s 22 Lok Sabha members and six Rajya Sabha members to signifier his ain party, the RJD. However, helium was yet forced to resign arsenic Chief Minister, and helium enactment his wife, Rabri Devi, successful his place. Just a fewer days into Ms. Rabri’s tenure, the Patna High Court, portion proceeding a contempt petition regarding mediocre civic conditions successful the State capital, observed that determination was nary State authorities worthy the sanction and “jungle raj” prevailed successful Bihar.

Mr. Lalu Prasad’s initiation into authorities was rooted successful absorption to the dynastic regularisation of the Congress, and yet helium went connected to found a dynasty of his own. He has 9 children — 7 daughters and 2 sons. For the family, authorities has often been personal. Mr. Lalu was successful jailhouse erstwhile his archetypal kid — his eldest girl — was calved connected May 22, 1975. He was booked nether the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), a notorious authorities aimed astatine suppressing dissent. It was passed successful Parliament successful 1971 and repealed successful 1977. On the proposition of Jayaprakash Narayan, Mr. Lalu named his girl Misa, aft the precise instrumentality nether which helium was imprisoned.

The sons

Barring a fewer slips, the household has not had immoderate nationalist showdown implicit power of the party, though underlying tensions remain. Mr. Tejashwi Yadav was not adjacent six months aged erstwhile his begetter became Chief Minister. The modulation from being known arsenic Mr. Lalu Prasad’s lad to establishing his ain governmental individuality took time. Politics was not his archetypal vocation choice. He started arsenic a cricketer aft dropping retired of Class 10. A middle-order batsman with a bully screen drive, Mr. Tejashwi was portion of Delhi’s Under-19 cricket squad astir the aforesaid clip arsenic Virat Kohli. He besides played 1 play for Jharkhand successful the Ranji Trophy. Later, helium was picked by the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) successful the Indian Premier League, wherever helium remained connected the reserve seat for 4 seasons, from 2008 to 2012.

Mr. Lalu chose Mr. Tejashwi implicit his elder brother, the maverick Tej Pratap Yadav, arsenic his governmental heir. Mr. Tejashwi made his archetypal nationalist code during the 2010 Assembly election, erstwhile helium accompanied his begetter connected the run trail. It was yet successful 2012 that helium gave up cricket and decided to ore afloat connected politics.

When Mr. Lalu was arrested successful September 2013, Mr. Tejashwi was already astatine the helm of enactment affairs. However, the RJD was not yet acceptable to anoint him arsenic heir. Ram Kripal Yadav, a cardinal adjutant of Mr. Lalu, was among those profoundly unhappy with Mr. Tejashwi’s elevation. “Tejashwi is precise progressive successful enactment affairs. But helium volition beryllium made a starring look of the enactment lone successful the agelong term,” helium told reporters astatine the time, dismissing Mr. Tejashwi’s elevation outright. A twelvemonth later, Mr. Ram Kripal Yadav switched implicit to the BJP aft Mr. Lalu chose his girl Ms. Misa Bharti implicit him arsenic the campaigner for the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat.

In 2014, Mr. Tejashwi was not yet 25 and could not contention the Lok Sabha election. Staying retired of the electoral fray proved to beryllium a blessing successful disguise. The RJD suffered a rout, winning lone 4 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats successful Bihar. Ms. Rabri Devi mislaid from Saran and Ms. Misa from Patliputra. He contested his archetypal predetermination successful 2015 from the Raghopur Assembly constituency, defeating the BJP’s Satish Kumar, who had won against his parent successful 2010. With the RJD winning 81 seats, 11 much than the JD(U) successful the Assembly election, it marked a resounding triumph for Mr. Lalu, who had spent years successful the governmental wilderness. Soon after, Mr. Tejashwi was promoted to the presumption of Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.

Mr. Lalu’s older son, Mr. Tej Pratap Yadav, has often deed the headlines for the incorrect reasons. From videos of him slapping and pushing enactment workers connected signifier oregon openly humiliating elder leaders who person worked with his father, his behaviour has often drawn criticism. Both the household and the enactment had mostly tolerated him and ignored his antics. During his 2 stints arsenic Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Tejashwi was often seen touching his elder brother’s feet astatine nationalist meetings, a reassuring motion meant to bespeak that the household hierarchy remained intact.

The patience of the Yadav clan yet ran retired successful May 2025 aft a station appeared connected Mr. Tej Pratap’s Facebook relationship showing him with a woman. The caption suggested that they had been successful a narration for 12 years. This came adjacent arsenic his divorcement proceedings with Aishwarya Rai, granddaughter of erstwhile Bihar Chief Minister Daroga Prasad Rai, were inactive ongoing. Mr. Lalu announced his expulsion from the enactment for six years.

“Ignoring motivation values successful idiosyncratic beingness weakens our corporate conflict for societal justice. The activities, nationalist conduct, and irresponsible behaviour of the eldest lad are not successful accordance with our household values and traditions,” helium said portion making the announcement.

The 2020 Bihar Assembly predetermination was the archetypal clip that Mr. Tejashwi led the run independently, though Mr. Lalu made important decisions, picking candidates and negotiating with allies. Mr. Tejashwi was the look of the party. He ran a blistering campaign, sprinting from 1 predetermination rally to the next. He addressed 247 rallies and 4 roadshows, the highest by immoderate person during that election. The enactment rallied down him with the slogan “Tejashwi tai hai!” (Tejashwi is confirmed). Even Mr. Lalu’s photographs were removed from the run posters to region the enactment from the disapproval of “jungle raj”, the cardinal taxable of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s counter-campaign. These changes, however, did not blunt the BJP’s campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to Mr. Tejashwi arsenic the “jungle raj ka yuvraj” (the crown prince of jungle raj) astatine rallies helium addressed successful the State. The RJD enactment chose not to respond and prosecute with the narrative. As the State heads into polls, the RJD volition erstwhile again person to face the ghosts of “jungle raj” afresh.

A comparatively young party, the RJD has had 3 stints successful authorities — 1 afloat word betwixt 2000 and 2005, erstwhile with 124 seats, it was the starring spouse successful the authorities and Ms. Rabri Devi was the Chief Minister, and 2 abbreviated stints successful confederation with the JD(U) (November 2015-July 2017 and August 2022-January 2024). Barring the 2010 blip, erstwhile it won conscionable 22 seats successful the Assembly, the RJD has mostly managed to clasp its ground. In the past 2 Assembly elections, the RJD emerged arsenic the azygous largest party, winning 81 seats successful 2015 and 75 successful 2020. On some occasions, it came wrong striking region of triumph but stumbled earlier the finishing line. This tin beryllium attributed to the RJD’s individuality of chiefly being a Muslim-Yadav party, a cognition partially of Mr. Lalu’s ain making and partially the effect of the circumstances.

Mr. Lalu Prasad’s emergence to powerfulness coincided with the Mandal-Mandir wave. The Muslim minority, disillusioned with the Narasimha Rao government’s nonaccomplishment to prevention the Babri Masjid successful Ayodhya, recovered itself adrift. In Bihar, they gravitated towards Mr. Lalu, particularly aft helium stalled BJP president L.K. Advani’s rath yatra. The Janata Dal, which already drew enactment from the Other Backward Classes — broadly classified arsenic Mandal communities — became a formidable unit with the summation of the number support.

Mr. Lalu’s authorities is summed up by a slogan attributed to him — “Bhurabal hatao”, with “Bhurabal” being a shorthand for Bhumihars, Rajputs, Brahmins, and Lalas (Kayasthas). In his autobiography, Mr. Lalu rejects the slogan, claiming it to beryllium a figment of a reporter’s imagination.

“One Day I woke up to a study successful a Hindi paper which quoted maine arsenic saying ‘Bhurabal saaf karo’ ... It added that I had systematically worked to demolish them financially, socially and politically. I was shocked astatine the damning report… Though I loved lacing my speeches with earthy phrases, I had nary contempt for immoderate caste successful adjacent the remotest country of my bosom and determination was nary question of my having ever fixed a clarion telephone to hitch retired the precocious castes successful Bihar. I vehemently rejected the motivated quality report.”

In his archetypal term, Kurmi and Koeri voters had begun distancing themselves from Mr. Lalu, successful absorption to the Yadav domination successful his government. The last rupture came successful February 1994 successful the signifier of the Kurmi Chetna Rally. Resentment against Mr. Lalu’s authorities overflowed astatine Patna’s Gandhi maidan. Mr. Nitish Kumar’s beingness connected signifier added to the revolt. In April 1994, Mr. Nitish walked retired of the Janata Dal, taking the Kurmi-Koeri ballot slope with him.

Mr. Lalu’s recognition arsenic a Muslim-Yadav person became much pronounced aft the enactment of the RJD. “In a determination outfit, it is lone earthy that the enactment is identified by the leader’s ain caste,” Rahul Verma, a chap astatine the Centre for Policy Research, explains. He argues that the emergence of the BJP created further conditions for the mobilisation of Yadavs and Muslims.

“BJP’s emergence further fragmented Bihar’s polity. In a multi-cornered competition, it is indispensable to person a captive ballot slope for immoderate enactment to beryllium successful the race. And it was evident that Lalu indispensable person felt that a Muslim-Yadav consolidation gives him a captive ballot of 25%,” Professor Verma says. While this strategy brought dividends successful the aboriginal years, it besides restricted the party’s maturation beyond its halfway elector base.

“Post-2014, not lone successful Bihar but successful ample parts of the country, a bipolar contention is on, with BJP being 1 pole. BJP has efficaciously pitted the non-dominant OBC against the ascendant caste successful the Hindi belt. Mobilisation of Muslims and Yadavs, usually, is accompanied with an arsenic beardown counter-mobilisation,” helium explains.

The RJD has been making efforts to interruption retired of this mould. In the 2020 Bihar election, Mr. Tejashwi tried to rework the run utilizing caste-neutral tones and centering it connected “unemployment”. With hindsight, the displacement successful strategy whitethorn look arsenic a calculated step, but Mr. Tejashwi’s comrades assertion it evolved organically. Bihar was the archetypal State to spell to the polls amid the pandemic. On October 24, 2020, Mr. Tejashwi held a property league successful Patna flanked by enactment leaders wearing masks. Responding to a question, helium declared that if the RJD came to power, it would present 10 lakh jobs. The committedness struck a chord with the youth, who were already reeling nether the economical fallout of the pandemic. From past on, it became the anthem for the RJD.

However, Professor Verma says the RJD’s employment-centric run unsocial cannot beryllium credited for the party’s performance. “A fewer months earlier the elections, Tejashwi Yadav was wholly retired of the picture. He ran a spirited campaign, bringing economical distress and governance issues to the centre stage. But we indispensable remember, the results besides reflected the situation wrong the NDA. Till precise late, the BJP did not endorse Nitish Kumar arsenic the NDA Chief Minister. Then determination was the LJP raising a emblem of rebellion against Nitish Kumar,” Professor Verma adds. The RJD is present making deliberate efforts to scope retired to the non-Yadav OBC communities to make a wider conjugation of backward classes, which erstwhile backed the Janata Dal. With Nitish Kumar’s power connected the wane, it is sensing an accidental to triumph implicit Kushwahas and Kurmis.

At an predetermination rally successful Patna’s Gandhi Maidan successful March 2024, Mr. Tejashwi said, “Some radical accidental that we are lone a MY party, a enactment of Muslims and Yadavs. But we are besides a BAAP party, wherever B stands for Bahujan, A for Agda (upper caste), A for Aadhi Aabadi (women), and P for poor.” The party’s show successful the 2024 Lok Sabha predetermination marked an betterment implicit 2019, erstwhile it drew a blank. The RJD won 4 seats, expanding its ballot stock by six percent points. While encouraging, this effect is hardly capable for the enactment to regain the nationalist relation that it enjoyed successful the 1990s.

In the 2025 Bihar election, the RJD is keen to gully a opposition betwixt the youthful Tejashwi Yadav and the 74-year-old incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It is besides hoping that the anti-incumbency origin volition drawback up with the NDA aft spending 2 decades successful power. The question is whether each these babe steps that the RJD has been taking to scope retired to a larger ballot basal assistance it scope the finishing line, oregon it volition request greater leaps to reclaim its presumption successful the electoral landscape.

This nonfiction is portion of The Hindu’s e-book Bihar astatine a crossroads.