Lalu Prasad Yadav (born 11 June 1948) is an Indian politician and the founder and president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He was Chief Minister of Bihar from 1990 to 1997 and Union Minister for Railways from 2004 to 2009. Famous for his rustic wit and his appeal among backward castes and Muslims, he gave a political voice to Bihar’s poor. He was later convicted in several cases of the “fodder scam” and barred from contesting elections.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Lalu Prasad Yadav |
| Born | 11 June 1948, Phulwaria, Gopalganj district, Bihar, India |
| Age | 78 |
| Party | Rashtriya Janata Dal (founded 1997) |
| Offices | Chief Minister of Bihar (1990–1997); Minister for Railways (2004–2009) |
| Education | B.N. College, Patna University (B.A., LL.B.) |
| Spouse | Rabri Devi (m. 1973) |
| Children | 9, including Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav and Misa Bharti |
Early Life
Lalu was born into a poor farming family of the Yadav caste in Phulwaria village. He moved to Patna to live with his elder brother, studied at Patna University and was elected president of its students’ union in 1973. He became a leading figure in Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement and in 1977, aged 29, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Chapra, one of its youngest members.
Political Career
He became Chief Minister in March 1990. In October that year his government arrested L. K. Advani at Samastipur, halting his Rath Yatra to Ayodhya, which made Lalu a national figure among secular parties. His years in office are remembered both for the new confidence they gave lower castes and for poor governance and crime.
In 1996 investigators uncovered the theft of hundreds of crores of rupees from the state’s animal husbandry department through fake bills for cattle fodder. Facing arrest in 1997, Lalu split the Janata Dal to form the RJD and installed his wife, Rabri Devi, as Chief Minister; she held the post until 2005.
In Manmohan Singh‘s government he ran the railways without raising passenger fares while the organisation reported large surpluses, a turnaround that business schools invited him to explain.
In 2013 a court convicted him in the first fodder scam case, and he lost his seat in Parliament. Four more convictions followed between 2017 and 2022. He has spent long periods in jail and in hospital and is out on bail. In 2015 his alliance with Nitish Kumar won the Bihar election.
Personal Life
Lalu married Rabri Devi in 1973. Their younger son, Tejashwi Yadav, leads the RJD in Bihar and has twice been Deputy Chief Minister. Lalu received a kidney from his daughter Rohini Acharya in a transplant in Singapore in December 2022.
Offices Held
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Lalu Prasad Yadav born?
Lalu Prasad Yadav was born on 11 June 1948 in Phulwaria, Gopalganj district, Bihar, India and is 78 years old.
Featured image: Lalu Prasad Yadav, then Union Minister for Railways, addresses a Railway Protection Force parade, New Delhi, 13 December 2008. Photo by Ministry of Railways, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
