Laloo Prasad Yadav (officially spelt Lalu Prasad Yadav) (born 1947-06-11) 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 recent 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. 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).
He was born to Late Shri Kundan Rai at Phulwaria, Distt. Gopalganj (Bihar). He married Rabri Devi in 1973 and has two sons and seven daughters. He is an arts graduate.
Positions Held
- 1977 Elected to 6th Lok Sabha
- 1989 Leader of Opposition, Bihar Legislative Assembly, Chairman, Pustakalaya Committee, Convenor, Committee on Public Undertakings, Re-elected to 9th Lok Sabha (2nd term)
- 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.
Laloo Prasad Yadav, one of India's most famous politicians, is a formidable force in Indian state of Bihar, which his Rashtriya Janata Dal has governed for the past 15 years. It was Laloo Yadav who arrested L K Advani during the rath yatra in 1990 at Samastipur
His problems however 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 whose appeal is based on the mass mobilisation of the lower caste Hindu votes, and regarded as the champion of social justice by some and as crook with backing of criminal elements in India. The fodder scam forced him to resign as chief minister and he made his uneducated wife, Rabri Devi, became his successor. Laloo and his wife claim that huge wealth they have stolen by taking bribes comes from milk business and dowery that he received from marriage, which it self is illegal in India.
He formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal in 1997, after breaking away from the Janata Dal.
| Preceded by: |
Chief Ministers of Bihar | Succeeded by: |
External links
- Profile of Laloo on BBC as of March 2004.
- Interview with Laloo on Asia Times from September 2004