Laloo Prasad Yadav

Laloo Prasad Yadav (officially spelt Lalu Prasad Yadav) (born June 11, 1948) is the chief of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party of India. He is also a former Chief Minister of the Indian state of Bihar, and is the husband of Bihar's current Chief Minister, Rabri Devi. In 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha with his party emerging as a key ally of the Congress. As of 2005, he is the Minister for Railways in the Manmohan Singh government, even while there are many corruption cases pending against him. He also receives criticism from wide sections of the media and the opposition parties for not improving the law and order situation in Bihar. He is one of the most parodied politicians from India. Most of the parodies mimic his rustic dialect (of Hindi), his clownish actions and statements.

He was born to Late Shri Kundan Rai at Phulwaria, Distt. Gopalganj (Bihar). He married Rabri Devi in 1973 and has two sons and six daughters. He is an arts graduate.

Positions Held

• 1977 Elected to 6th Lok Sabha

• 1980-1989 Member, Legislative Assembly (two terms) of Bihar.

• 1989 Leader of Opposition, Bihar Legislative Assembly, Chairman, Pustakalaya Committee, Convenor, Committee on Public Undertakings, Re-elected to 9th Lok Sabha (2nd term)

• 1990-1995 Member, Bihar Legislative Council

• 1990-1997 Chief Minister, Bihar

• 1995-1998 Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly

• 1998 Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term)

• 1998-1999 Member, General Purposes Committee, Committee on Home Affairs and its Sub-Committee on Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• 2004 Re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha (4th term).Appointed as Cabinet Minister looking after the Ministry of Railways.

Allegations of Corruption

Laloo Prasad Yadav, one of India's most popular (And hated) politicians, is a formidable force in Indian state of Bihar, which his Rashtriya Janata Dal has governed for the past 13 years.

His problems began in 1996 when the police unearthed a big corruption scandal in which he and the state's leading bureaucrats and politicians were involved.

Although he is a figure who's appeal is based on the mass mobilisation of the lower caste Hindu votes, and as a champion of social justice, he is regarded by many of his opponents as corrupt, with involvement in several financial scandals including the Fodder scam . The scam forced him to resign as chief minister and his wife, Rabri Devi, became his successor. Rabri Devi is illiterate and apparently knows little about politics - she appears to be a mere figurehead and it is generally believed that Laloo runs the state by remote control.

He formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal in 1997, after breaking away from the Janata Dal.

External links

• Profile of Laloo on BBC as of March 2004.
• Interview with Laloo on Asia Times from September 2004