Ankit Yadav holds his phone against the window of a white van, and clicks. Inside sits an elderly man dressed in white, a green scarf around his neck. One side bears the image of his son and Mahagathbandhan chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav; the other the ‘lantern’ symbol of the party he founded, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Lalu Prasad, 77, is in the autumn of his political career, weakened by age and illness. However, even in his absence, the RJD founder is very much a presence in these elections, in a state where the social upheaval he wrought changed its politics forever. The main line of attack of the NDA, as it seeks to retain power, is Lalu’s reign – as the CM, and the de-facto CM when wife Rabri Devi stepped in for him – and its alleged “jungle raj”.
Seeking to put distance between himself and his father’s government, Tejashwi-led RJD has used Lalu and his image sparingly in the elections. Monday marked Lalu’s first and only roadshow for the first phase of the Assembly polls, on November 6. The RJD chief campaigned for party candidate Ritlal Yadav, the sitting MLA from Danapur, a seat in Patna district won by Lalu himself twice in the past.
Tejashwi also campaigned in the constituency Monday, but did so separately. As did Misa Bharti, Lalu’s daughter and the MP from Patlipura, under which the Danapur seat falls.
Ankit, who runs a small cloth shop in the Danapur area, has no doubts regarding Lalu’s legacy. “He still commands respect in Danapur. He did a lot for people from smaller castes. He gave us courage and dignity. Earlier, upper castes would force us to shut down our businesses… they believed we were born only to herd cattle or to work as labourers.”
As Lalu’s convoy sets off from Digha, and makes its way over 15 km to Khagaul, there are people on both sides, hoping for just a view. Standing among them, Ankit defends Ritlal too. “Whatever people say, he has always helped the poor… He has never turned away anyone seeking help.”
Ankit is alluding to Ritlal’s long history with the law, including more than 40 criminal cases, among them of murder, extortion, rioting and criminal intimidation. He is currently in Bhagalpur Central Jail over an alleged extortion bid.
Many in Danapur claim to be victims of Ritlal’s network, and Lalu’s campaign for him has reinforced their fears regarding his unfettered influence in the RJD and what could follow a victory for the party.
A small hardware shop owner, who is in his late 40s and does not want to be named, says: “When Asha Devi Sinha of the BJP was MLA, water would collect outside her own house, that’s how neglected things were. People got frustrated and voted for Ritlal. But since he became the MLA, crime and snatching have increased. It’s scary to return home late at night.”
Down another street, shopkeeper Subodh Gupta says: “People from Ritlal’s group demand money from us to keep our business running… Nitish Kumar has done a decent job. People still have to leave for jobs, but for business, Bihar is in a better condition than it was during Lalu’s rule.”
Rajeev Kumar, 59, carries the same memories. “In Lalu’s time, many businessmen left Bihar… Looting was everywhere. Many people would hide their stocks afraid of being robbed or of extortion… Ritlal is no different.”
A native of Kothwa village in Patna district, Ritlal first came into the spotlight in 2003, when he was accused in the murder of BJP leader Satyanarayan Sinha, the husband of former MLA Asha Devi Sinha. In 2010, before the Assembly elections, Ritlal surrendered in another criminal case, contested from jail as an Independent and lost.
In 2015, while still imprisoned, he became an Independent MLC. Four years later, he was released on bail, and went on to win the 2020 Assembly elections as an RJD candidate, defeating Asha Sinha from Danapur.
One reason for the RJD’s continuing faith in Ritlal is his proximity to Lalu, with party insiders often describing him as the RJD chief’s “loyal foot soldier in Patna’s heartland”.
Ritlal has been in Bhagalpur jail after surrendering in April this year in connection with a Rs 50 lakh extortion case filed by a Danapur builder. He was initially remanded to Beur Jail in Patna but shifted to the high-security Bhagalpur prison amid concerns that he was calling the shots from behind bars.
The BJP has fielded Ram Kripal Yadav, a former Union minister who used to be a Lalu aide too, and parted ways with the RJD in 2014, after he was denied the Patliputra Lok Sabha ticket. The RJD instead fielded Misa Bharti.
Ram Kripal joined the BJP and went on to defeat Misa in both 2014 and 2019. While he lost in 2024 to her, it was by a slight margin.
The BJP is counting on Ram Kripal splitting the Yadav vote, and adding that to its traditional vote base to wrest Danapur.
One of 14 Assembly constituencies in Patna district, Danapur was won by Lalu in 1995 and 2000, but vacated both times to retain Raghopur. He later moved on to the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat, and lost from there in 2009 narrowly.
The one factor that for many overrides the apprehensions regarding a RJD government is the fatigue Nitish Kumar, who has been CM now for 20 years and is the face of the NDA campaign.
Rahis Kumar, 27, says: “I’ve been preparing for a government job for years… There are too few vacancies for too many applicants. I took a loan and started a small business, but even that gets no help from the government.”
Kumar adds: “We don’t like Ritlal, but this time we’ll vote just to change the government, just to see what Tejashwi has to offer.”
At Moti Chowk, shopkeeper Kanhaiya Rai also puts employment first. “We now have roads and electricity thanks to Nitish Kumar, but we need jobs. Business will grow automatically if people have employment.”
More forgiving of Lalu for doing “what he could in his time, when the economy was smaller and people didn’t have funds for businesses”, Rai says: “Nitish ji has worked hard, but Bihar now needs someone who can create real jobs, so that the whole business ecosystem can grow.”
Lalu’s motorcade is making its past, weaving down the streets of Danapur, hailed by crowds waving green flags and shouting slogans of “Lalu Yadav Zindabad”.
Is it a goodbye or a new start? Danapur result may tell.