“Whenever our leader Lalu Prasad Yadav has been sent to jail, our party has emerged stronger,” senior RJD leader and party vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told presspersons soon after Mr. Prasad was found guilty on Saturday in a fodder scam case by a special CBI court in Ranchi.
While opinion is divided on the impact of the conviction on the party, public perception on the surface is that “it will make the RJD voters more aggressive and supportive”.
A day before the judgment, Mr. Prasad had put up a brave face. “If I go to jail, each and every worker of the RJD will become a Lalu Prasad Yadav,” he had said.
Accompanied by his younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD chief said, “Wherever Tejashwi will be, Lalu Prasad will be there too”.
Senior party leaders Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Jagdanand Singh and Shivanand Tiwari too said Mr. Prasad’s conviction would not have any impact on the morale of the party.
“This is not the first time Lalu Prasad has been sent to jail … in 2013 too he went to jail in a fodder scam case in Ranchi, but we came to power in 2015 with the largest number of seats,” party leader Shivanand Tiwari said. Leaders of the ruling JD(U) and BJP however predicted a split in the party.
“There will be confusion in the RJD … in their family too there will be rivalry between the two sons … just wait and watch the drama,” said JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar.
Political pundits of the State said the conviction of Lalu Prasad might shake the party but “it will not have much of an impact”. “Jail and Lalu Prasad have now become synonymous with Bihar politics and moreover corruption is no longer an issue in politics … Lalu Prasad has commanded his party even from inside the jail in the past … now, his sons are by his side,” said political observer Ajay Kumar.
Tejashwi appeal
Mr. Tejashwi Yadav meanwhile appealed to party workers to remain calm. “Nobody can defeat truth...we’ll win and definitely win…keep your love and trust… jai Bihar, Jai Hind, ” he said in a tweet.
Mr. Tejashwi Yadav, who was present along with several RJD leaders at the court in Ranchi, also said they would appeal in the High Court against the verdict.
