Lalu, the politician who defied stereotypes

"Get back on track," Lalu Prasad joked in the Lok Sabha when a fellow MP once complained that interruptions were making him lose his train of thought during a noisy debate.
After being consumed by the Fodder scam today, the question being asked is will Prasad's own humourous advice early this year in a reference to his former Railways portfolio hold good for him in his derailed political career.
But the next time Parliament is in session, it will be short on humour and miss the wisecracks of the irrepressible Prasad who has enlivened many a proceeding.
Arguably one of India's most colourful politicians, 65-year-old Prasad, son of a milkman, is an unique figure in the hurly-burly of Indian politics and a phenomenon in his hey days. He is one politician who defied stereotypes.

Known for his quirky style and mass appeal, in his prime, there were few leaders in India who could rival Prasad's charisma and popularity.
Prasad, who rose from a clerk to become a two-time Chief Minister of undivided Bihar and then as Union Railways Ministere, has in essence, provided a perfect example of true Indian rural sophistication.

His trademark lungi, short and stout body, and sprouted ears have endeared him, in both ways, to the masses of India. His lustrous career kicked off at a tender age of 29, when he got elected to the 6th Lok Sabha, one of the youngest members in the Lower House.

In a short span of 10 years, Prasad, a canny political operator, went on to become a formidable political force in Bihar, and became the Chief Minister for the first time in 1990.
During his second term, he was charged in the Fodder Scam of 1996 and resigned as Chief Minister in 1997, He elected his wife Rabri Devi, with whom he has nine children, as his successor.