Born on June 11, 1948, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) founder Lalu Prasad Yadav turned 73 today (June 11). Lalu Prasad Yadav, who served as the Chief Minister of Bihar twice in the 90s, recently walked out of jail in Ranchi after the Jharkhand High Court granted him bail in all the fodder scam cases wherein he has been awarded punishments.
Prasad, who was the chief minister of undivided Bihar for seven years, was first convicted in a fodder scam case in 2013, which led to his disqualification from contesting elections.
He was, however, soon out on bail and took part in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in which his party came out with an unimpressive performance in the face of the "Modi wave".
A year later, though, he emerged as the star attraction in the assembly polls, which his party fought in alliance with arch-rival and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U).
Though out of race himself, Prasad ensured through his electrifying campaign a spectacular comeback for the RJD that had been drubbed by the NDA in the 2010 assembly polls, and both his sons made successful debuts, with Tejashwi becoming the deputy CM and Tej Pratap getting a cabinet berth.
Here are some interesting facts about Lalu Prasad Yadav:
1. Lalu Prasad Yadav was only 29 when he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977.
2. He entered in student politics in 1970 as the general secretary of the Patna University Students' Union (PUSU) and became its president in 1973.
3. While many people consider Lalu Prasad Yadav as less educated, he actually did his MA in Political Science followed by LLB.
4. He has also appeared on the big screen — he made a guest appearance in a movie called 'Padmashree Lalu Prasad Yadav' in 2005.
5. As the Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav got LK Advani arrested on September 23, 1990 during the Rath Yatra to Ayodhya, which established Prasad as a secular leader and consolidated the Muslim vote bank.
6. Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri have two sons, Tej Pratap and Tejasvi, and seven daughters — Misha Bharti, Rohini Acharya, Chanda, Ragini, Dhannu, Hema and Lakshmi.
7. He named his daughter Misa Bharti on the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).
8. While 'Rabri Devi is his wife, the names of his sister-in-laws are Jalebi, Raasgulla and Paan.