Fodder Scam: Lalu Yadav Convicted, it is going to be tough for the RJD

Former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD Chief Lalu Yadav suffered a major setback as he was convicted in another case of fodder scam by a special CBI court in Ranchi. The announcement of the quantum of the sentence has been held till January 3. Lalu Yadav turned out to be the unfortunate one as the court acquitted six people including former CM Jagannath Mishra out of the 22 accused in the same case. Lalu Yadav has been taken into custody and will be directly transported from the court to the Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi. Lalu Yadav was earlier convicted by the lower court in 2013.

The Fodder Scam dates back to 1996. The fodder scam refers to six different cases in which some of the biggest names in Bihar’s political and administrative circuit were involved. Apart from Lalu Yadav, former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra, RJD Strongman from Samastipur Vidyasagar Nishad, former MP R.K. Rana, former BJP legislator Dhruv Bhagat and three former IAS officers – Phoolchand Singh, Beck Julius and Mahesh Prasad were some of the biggest names held accused in the high-profile case.

Political Pundits have already begun predicting RJD’s impending doom in Patna. Lalu Yadav was the force who held it together. Lalu’s sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap, though reasonably famous, are quite inexperienced in the game of realpolitik. Lalu’s absence can lead to a power struggle in the party. Nitish Kumar has been observing the developments calmly without giving anything away about his intentions. Ever since the day Nitish quit the Mahagathbandhan alliance and went on to form the government with old friend BJP, the sounds of dissent in the Rashtriya Janata Dal have been audible. It was being rumored that some senior RJD leaders were in touch with the JDU after the split. It was also being alleged that more than a dozen legislators were willing to switch sides. With Lalu gone from Bihar Politics and Nitish Kumar firmly in control of the state machinery, the clamors of dissent are bound to increase in the RJD.

Lalu Yadav probably saw the looming danger and hence after being convicted in the Fodder scam case, went on a tweet spree accusing BJP of a witch hunt. He said Truth can be made to appear like a lie, as ambiguous or a half lie by concerted onslaught of bias driven propaganda. But blurred layer of bias and hatred will still be removed, come what may! In end Truth will win.

He went on to accuse BJP of playing ‘dirty’ games to spoil the perceived image of its political foes.

Lalu Yadav after playing the victim card also played his famous caste card when he quoted Journalist Shekhar Gupta’s article and said Powerful people and powerful classes always managed to divide society into ruling and the ruled classes. And whenever anyone from the lower hierarchy challenged this unjust order, they would be deliberately punished

Lalu Yadav was then quickly back to his Desi avatar to present a brave face to the media and the government.

But Lalu’s fears are not unfounded. All eyes are now on Lalu’s younger son and former deputy chief minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav. While Tejashwi was successful in making his name as a decent enough orator in the Bihar Assembly, it remains to be seen how good the young leader can bat on the political wicket, considering the fact that he has to play against one of the best and possibly the most deceptive opponent – Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar.