Turning 65 seems to bring few signs of imminent old age for the man who has ruled Bihar for 15 years and won Lok Sabha polls five times. RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, in his own words, remains “young in my mind and soul”.
Accompanied by his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and senior RJD leaders, Mr Yadav on Monday celebrated his 65th birthday in style with a matching 65-pound cake bearing the likeness of a large green lantern, the party’s electoral symbol. Amid the festive strains of the shehnai wafting through his flower-bedecked 10, Circular Road, residence in Patna, he divided time between meeting well-wishers and taking potshots at his arch rival, chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Unlike in the years since the RJD’s loss of power in Bihar and Mr Yadav ceasing to be railway minister, his latest birthday party had a relaxed milieu with both Mr Yadav, a former Bihar chief minister, and Ms Rabri Devi full of verve. This was, said Mr Yadav’s close aides, due to several personal and political achievements — three of his daughters getting married this year, his elder son Tej Pratap owning a motorcycle agency in Aurangabad, and Rabri Devi getting elected as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council.
“Nitish Kumar’s tall claims of development and peace in Bihar are being proved as lies one after another. I need not drive this government out because the people themselves are going to do so in time,” said Mr Yadav, who has lined up a series of campaigns against Bihar’s NDA government to begin later this month.
Mr Yadav also rubbished the NDA’s charges that he has become a spent force.