Lok Sabha polls a test for Lalu's son and political heir, Tejashwi Yadav

The young leader is yet to earn the trust of the crowd

It was 1998 and Lalu Prasad in Bihar was at the height of his power. Despite being involved in the fodder scam, Prasad looked confident before the Lok Sabha election. When a reporter asked him about the prospects of his Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which broke away from the Janata Dal in the previous year, Prasad, who had by then vacated the chief minister’s office in favour of his wife, said: “Jab tak rahega samose mein aloo, Bihar mein rahega Lalu.”

His party won 17 seats (of the 54 in undivided Bihar) with a 27 per cent vote share in