Updated: October 29, 2020 2:41:53 pm
72-year-old RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is watching the action closely. (File photo)
Serving his prison sentence at the Ranchi Institute for Medical Sciences (RIMS), where he has been staying since May 2018, the man who has been synonymous with Bihar politics for four decades is this time away from the heat and dust. Even Tejashwi Yadav’s son and political heir is accused by rivals of downplaying Lalu Prasad’s influence.
However, the 72-year-old is watching the action closely. “Laluji watches news on television all the time, even while eating. He does not read the newspapers much … Sometimes he asks the nurses to read the headlines, ”says an official at Birsa Munda Central Jail, Ranchi, where Lalu is supposed to be staying, who paid him a routine visit less ago One week. .
The official adds: “When I went to the hospital ward, I was having lunch and watching Tej Pratap Yadav (his eldest son who is fighting from Hasanpur, who will vote on November 3) address a demonstration. Easy lag rahe the (seemed calm) … His body language was relaxed. “
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Lalu has been serving consecutive jail sentences since December 2017 since his conviction in fodder scam cases dating back to his tenure as undivided CM of Bihar in the 1990s. He has spent most of his tenure at RIMS, where he is being treated for multiple ailments.
With the RJD facing a decisive election, its founding president seems to have more hope. “Laluji is confident of a great victory for the Grand Alliance,” said Jharkhand RJD Youth President Abhay Singh. “He says sarkaar mera hi aayega… Jitni der jage rehte hain, chunav prachar hi dekhte hain. Thoda bhi vyakul nahin hain, swasth hain (He says it is our government that will come … All the time he is awake, he is following the news of the elections. He is not at all anxious, he is healthy) “
The jail official says Lalu does not have a cell phone and visits are allowed once a week. A few days ago some party workers visited him. While Tejashwi, the face of CM from the RJD-led alliance, his daughters and his wife Rabri Devi arrived more than two months ago, the official says, Tej Pratap visited a month ago. “Laluji was anxiously waiting for him, asking people if there was any news of him … His samdhi Jitendra Yadav also came to see him from UP”
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Jitendra Yadav, who met Lalu for a few hours in the third week of September, says Lalu looked healthy “but his sugar was out of range that day.” “I do not discuss politics with him. I know him as a relative. I see him every few months. “One of Lalu’s daughters is married to Jitendra Yadav’s son.
Tejashwi has been telling rallies that Lalu will be released from jail on November 9, and will be Nitish Kumar’s vidaai (dismissal) the next day, November 10, when the election results are declared. Lalu’s lawyer, Prabhat Kumar, says they trust this. “Laluji has already served half his jail sentence – three and a half years – in the Chaibasa Treasury and Deoghar Treasury cases and was granted bail in those cases for that reason. Now, in the case of the Dumka treasury (embezzlement of Rs 3.13 crore), he is ready to complete 50% of his 7-year sentence. We will submit a request for bail when the Jharkhand High Court reopens on November 2, after the Durga Puja vacation, and he will most likely be released from jail on November 9. “
Are you contemplating possibly the best homecoming for a politician? The RJD hopes so.
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