Lalu Prasad Yadav

Born On: 11 January, 1948
Born At: Phulwaria, Bihar
Career: Politician

With charismatic leadership and mass appeal, Lalu Prasad Yadav became a popular politician in India, serving as a cabinet minister and also as Chief Minister of Bihar. Hailing from a rustic family of famers, he reached the heights of Indian politics with his humorous nature and powerful administration skills. The man who was born to a Kundan Rai and a Marachhiya Devi is now not only one of the most important political figures in the state of Bihar, but also the entire nation. No wonder then that this student-leader with innate leadership qualities and an excellent political sense became a much loved political figure in Bihar. Prasad ruled the state for seven years. He also entered the Limca Book of Records as the longest serving President of an Indian political party. His contributions to the Indian Railways as a Railway minister are worth noticing and are still referred to by students as the perfect model of management and administration. His political life witnessed many successes and sadly allegations too. Read on to know more about this popular Indian politician.

Early Life
Lalu Prasad Yadav was born on June 11, 1948 into a family of farmers in Phulwaria, in the Gopalganj district of Bihar. He was the son of Kundan Rai and Marachhiya Devi. He finished his schooling in Bihar and after graduating from college, he pursued a course in law from the Patna University. He was a popular student leader and actively took part in student elections during college and from there entered mainstream politics, the rest as they say is history. He married Rabri Devi on June 1st, 1973 and the couple together had two sons and seven daughters.

Career
Lalu Prasad Yadav's participated in student politics and even became the General Secretary of the Patna University Students' Union in 1970. He was largely inspired by great leaders like Prakash Narayan, Raj Narain, Karpoori Thakur and Satyendra Narayan Sinha. With the support of Satyendra Narayan Sinha, who was the former Chief Minister of Bihar and also the President of the Bihar State Janata Party, Lalu Prasad Yadav contested in the Lok Sabha elections. Lalu Prasad went on to win the election and became one of the youngest members of the Indian Parliament. He became a powerful figure in Bihar politics within a span of ten years and was elected the Chief Minister, defeating the former chief minister Ram Sundar Das.

He formed a new political party called the RashtriyaJanata Dal (RJD) in 1997, as a result of his incompatibility with Janata Dal. He ruled Bihar for more than fifteen years. He won the Lok Saba elections from Chhapra and Madhepura and became the Union Railway minister in the UPA Government and converted the loss-struck railways into a profitable organization.

Although known as a person with unparalled administrative talents, there are many allegations against Lalu Prasad Yadav. A news channel, recently, alleged that the Union Railway Minister Lalu Parasad Yadav had misused his position to help his relatives acquire land illegally. However, Lalu Prasad Yadav became a popular leader in his home state and many books were written in praise of him by local writers. He was always a part of entertainment programs in television. Even his hair-style was a hit. From tobacco to chocolate and dolls to cosmetics, everything found a market by mimicking him and or using his name. There was even a Bollywood movie titled "Padamshree Laloo Prasad Yadav" and was released in the year 2004. There were several corruption allegations against Lalu Prasad, an important one being the "Fodder Scam" which led to his remand and interrogation.

Contributions
He proved to be a powerful minister and a good administrator as he raised the Indian Railways from a loss-making organization to a profitable establishment with a total profit of around Rs.25, 000 crores. This was something he did without raising the fares. This notable achievement got many well-known management schools interested in Prasad's leadership style and invited him to address over a hundred students from Harvard, Wharton and other prestigious institutions. The turnaround of the Indian Railways during Lalu Prasad Yadav's Tenure is now being looked up to by the students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Time Line

1977: Won the 6thLok Sabha elections.
1989: Became the leader of the opposition
1990: Became the Chief Minister of Bihar
1996: Gets accused of a major scam
1997: Formed Rashriya Janata Dal (RJD)
2005: Ruled Bihar with the assistance of his wife, Rabri Devi
2004: Became the Union Minister of Railways.
2009: Won the 15th Lok Sabha elections