Lalu Prasad Yadav, Possibly India’s Next Prime Minister

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For the past four and a half years, India has had a classy, educated, honest Prime Minister in Manmohan Singh. He’s often been criticized for not seeming forceful enough, but he did score a major success against both left and right in the nuclear deal and subsequent vote of no-confidence, and will probably join a relatively small number of Indian PMs in finishing out a complete five-year term. (Quick quiz: how many have there been?)

One person who is being talked about as a viable candidate for India’s next Prime Minister couldn’t be more different — Lalu Prasad Yadav. Yadav is the ex-Chief Minister of Bihar, where he rose to power in the “Mandal era” by mobilizing what are referred to as backward caste voting blocs in the state. Once in power, Yadav became nationally notorious as a rampantly corrupt figure, who embezzled at least $267 million in the “Fodder Scam”. He was eventually forced out of office, but was able to continue effectively running the state after he installed his wife, Rabri Devi, as Chief Minister in his stead. Starting in the late 1990s, Lalu Prasad Yadav became the punchline of many Indian jokes; even saying his name in some circles leads people to start smiling, in expectation of the joke to follow. (Another quiz: what are the names of his nine children?)

During the current UPA (Congress) administration he has had a second political life as the National Railways Minister — and he’s had remarkable success in turning around a huge government operation that had for decades been dominated by inefficiency and losses for the government. During its tenure (1999-2004), the NDA (BJP) had even been making noises to the effect that the only solution would be privatization, or failing that, raising ticket prices aggressively. But under Yadav, in 2008 alone the Railways earned profits of $6 billion — without raising passenger ticket prices at all. He may have been incredibly corrupt (and may still be corrupt), but he has been remarkably effective at turning around a major government agency.

I mention Lalu Prasad Yadav as a Prime Minister possibility as a reflection of the chatter I was hearing, mainly from relatives, as I was traveling in northern India last week. I have no idea whether it’s a real possibility, and I’m certainly far from thrilled about the possibility of someone so corrupt becoming Prime Minister. But it would nevertheless be interesting, partly because it would involve the country making a clear departure from the Nehru family and western-educated elites, in favor of someone with a strikingly different profile.

He may or may not become Prime Minister, but it does appear that while Lalu Prasad Yadav is still the butt of a few jokes, many Indians are starting to utter his name with newfound respect.

332 thoughts on “Lalu Prasad Yadav, Possibly India’s Next Prime Minister”

  1. By the way Jef Costello, you have a very useful and helpful website. I have bookmarked it. Well done.

  2. Ethnic jokes are a very common feature of Indian humor. Sure, Sardar jokes probably have a longer tradition than most, but there are any number of digs at Biharis, Baniyas, Sindhis, Marwaris, you name it. I don’t mean to minimize people’s sensitivity to these digs, especially in comments like #32, but, for better of worse, Sikhs are not alone in being punchlines today.

  3. In 1978, IBM was officially kicked out of India. One of their subsidiary unit, Computer Maintenance Corp Ltd (CMC), was taken over by the Government of India. The organization had seasoned managers who were true visionaries raised by ‘the IBM’ of the 60s and 70s. Rajiv Gandhi government enabled them utilize their expertise in Indian Railways. They built and implmented the railway reservation system in India by ~1992. In my opinion, that was the most complex reservation system implemented for any passenger systems anywhere in the WORLD. That made Indian railways realize the power of using modern technology for improved services. The entire organization and people in the country was against computerization at that point. Implementing such a system in that timeframe was such an arduous task, that is harder than putting a man in the moon.

    The success of that implementation in the early 90s made Indian Railways realize that they can do a lot with modern computing and communication. Above all, they realized the fruits of home grown project management and implementation. The effect of it is showing up now. Lalu certainly can take some credit, but not all. The same success could not be replicated in the mechanical systems in railways, because it is much harder to make that kind of leap in mechanical engineering growth in India. So their mechanical and civil work is still largely remnants of what the british left.

  5. There’s one and only truth to “Sardar jokes”: when told by a Sikh, the jokes are actually funny. When told by a non-Sikh, they are usually made out of spite or envy.

    To give an example on Rahul’s point, Mehmood was not Tamil this is still considered a classic.

    Ethnic jokes are offensive because of US history. Since India does not have a similar history of ethnicity based discrimination it makes no sense to apply the same standards to India. (On the other hand, caste based jokes are a bit of a taboo, unless they are on upper castes)

  6. 57 · DizzyDesi said

    Ethnic jokes are offensive because of US history. Since India does not have a similar history of ethnicity based discrimination it makes no sense to apply the same standards to India. (On the other hand, caste based jokes are a bit of a taboo, unless they are on upper castes)

    Um, no ethnic discrimination? Tell that to tribal peoples or to the people of places like Assam. And don’t get me started on religious-based discrimination.

    Ethnic jokes, particularly those directed at members of ethnic minorities, just plain suck. If they didn’t, normally calm people like me wouldn’t be worked up when people tell them. And that’s true for jokes directed at religious minorities too. I just don’t get why people feel the need to justify them–when someone whose not a member of that group tells a joke about it, the whole point is to try to diminish members of that group. Any South Asian who grew up in the US (and who was ever teased about their ethnicity or religion) should get this. And ditto for anyone who comes from a minority group in India–caste, religious, or otherwise.

    And finally, if you MUST tell stupid jokes about a minority group {Suraj 32, I’m looking at you), don’t do it in the comments of a post by an apparent member of that minority. Do it at home with people who actually find you funny. If you can find any.

  7. Since India does not have a similar history of ethnicity based discrimination it makes no sense to apply the same standards to India.

    Hahaha, you really are a comedian.

  8. The idea is not totally unheard of – since 2004 actually, (link) While I do believe, PM Manmohan Singh’s integrity and ideals are kind of a rarity in today’s politics, he may not match up to Laloo’s ‘street-smart’ antics, he understands the need for dramatization to capture an ordinary Indian’s attention (link).

    Personally I think it would be a sad day for India to have a corrupt politician like Laloo to be the PM, but given an option between a hardcore Hindutva leader from BJP and Laloo – I’d prefer the latter, he at least appears to be more secular (or ‘pseudo-secular’ as some would like to call secularists).

  9. Tell that to tribal peoples or to the people of places like Assam

    As I mentioned caste based jokes are taboo (unless they are on upper castes) Just using the term Pariah can get people jailed.

    Do you have any examples of tribal discrimination which do not fall under Caste based discrimination as well?

    Institutionally, colleges like Columbia would reject candidates because they were Jewish — the infamous quotas. In India by contrast, ever since Independence the quotas have been for positive discrimination in India. (this has led to a ton of problems, but that’s a different story)

  10. I read this “story” about Sikhs and their industriousness.

    An old Sikh taxi driver had 3-4 young kids in his taxi, and they spent the whole day cracking Sardar jokes. He didn’t say anything, but when the kids were leaving, he turned to one of them and gave him a 1 Rupee coin and asked him to give it to the next Sikh beggar he saw. The recipient claims to still have the coin.

  11. he turned to one of them and gave him a 1 Rupee coin and asked him to give it to the next Sikh beggar he saw. The recipient claims to still have the coin.

    The recipient must have been a Sindhi. Oh, snap!

  12. The ridicule of Sikhs is certainly perpetrated by Bollywood and Indian television

    Well at least they are equally shown in positive light ( Recently there had hardly been any -ve scene involving a Sikh). How about the Hindus? Have you seen a movie where a Bania shown as doing something good?

  13. 64 · Laddoo Singh said

    How about the Hindus? Have you seen a movie where a Bania shown as doing something good?

    Ah, Ladoo Singh, that’s interesting. You say, “What about Hindus?” but you don’t point to “Hindu jokes,” you point to “Bania jokes.” That’s targeting a caste, not Hindus.

  14. 61 · DizzyDesi said

    In India by contrast, ever since Independence the quotas have been for positive discrimination in India. (this has led to a ton of problems, but that’s a different story)
    It wasn’t all that positive, just because someone is born to an “upper” caste family does not mean they were well to do or had access to a first class primary/secondary education.

  16. Yadav for PM eh?? i can totally see the foreign ministers of other nations struggling over this one.

  17. but you don’t point to “Hindu jokes,”

    What about the Indian economy during the Nehru-Gandhi era?

  20. 28 · khoofia said

    they are made of clay (not terracotta) and are way more ‘biodegradable’ than plastic or porcelain.

    amen! i read that line by OP and was LMAO. thanks for correcting the record.

  21. It will be some random person and everyone will be like, Who the @#$* is he?

    Whenever there is a third party coalition it will be the least ambitious guy, a threat to no one. That rules out Mayawati, Lalu. With a congress led coalition, no threat to the dynasty and requires Sonia Gandhi’s stamp of approval . BJP is the only one who has identified their candidate for the office of PM.

  22. 32 · Suraj said

    his voice seems like that of a woman who is half way morphing into a man

    The classy would call that soft-spoken. But you are not classy.

  23. 24 · Kumar_N said

    But unfortunately, we have the first-past-the-post parliamentary system, and have to contend with the likes of Rahul Maino Gandhi, Lalu Yadav, and other such creatures.

    Is Rahul Maino Gandhi his real name or are you adding the Maino bit to emphasize the “Italian Connection”? I am just curious.

  24. Speaking about MMS’ voice – I think its just old age; I am not saying MMS would have been a great Ghazal singer in his youth, but in general I suspect his voice would have been alright – may be a bit mellowed by all that wine they consume in esteemed global financial institutions 🙂

    Ah..jb@75: To cut a long story short, when Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination for contesting elections in 2004, there was a debate about his educational qualifications.He listed his Senior Secondary education, and an M.Phil from Cambridge, UK. (No graduation in between !). Cambridge initially said they don’t have a Rahul Gandhi listed in their records as a student. After two days, Cambridge issued a press release stating that Rahul Gandhi did indeed do an M.Phil at the Univ.And they also disclosed that Rahul was not registered as a Gandhi, but as a Maino (Antonia aka Sonia’s maiden name).However, when the records were actually verified, it turns out that Rahul was registered at Cambridge as Raul Vinci.

    All of this was discussed during the 2004 election campaign.The name stuck since then, though it is not used by mainstream media.

  25. 64 · Laddoo Singh said

    >>The ridicule of Sikhs is certainly perpetrated by Bollywood and Indian television Well at least they are equally shown in positive light ( Recently there had hardly been any -ve scene involving a Sikh). How about the Hindus? Have you seen a movie where a Bania shown as doing something good?

    Guru? Or anything involving Gandhi (such as Munna Bhai 2). Or where characters are from a Gujju NRI or non-NRI business family (way too many to name).

  27. jb@75:

    Is Rahul Maino Gandhi his real name “?

    He heh. It’s not even Gandhi. It’s actually Daruwalla!

  28. 78 · RJ said

    Corrupt…..Unkind….BUT the trains ran on time. Sounds familiar?

    yeah, sounds like bjp rhetoric – ham do, hamare do hazaar moronic followers. 😉

  29. Whenever there is a third party coalition it will be the least ambitious guy, a threat to no one. That rules out Mayawati, Lalu. With a congress led coalition, no threat to the dynasty and requires Sonia Gandhi’s stamp of approval . BJP is the only one who has identified their candidate for the office of PM.

    I don’t think so. Mayawati has everything going for her. Being a Dalit leader is a plus in this scenario. If the UPA loses (which is more likely) and whoever gains, whether the third “Left secular” front or the “Right Hindutvadi” front but fall short of majority, Mayawati is in an unenviable position. If she has the required numbers from UP (50-60 MP seats) no one can seem to be opposing the first Dalit Prime minister of India.

  31. 80 · dr amonymous said

    78 · RJ said
    Corrupt…..Unkind….BUT the trains ran on time. Sounds familiar?
    yeah, sounds like bjp rhetoric – ham do, hamare do hazaar moronic followers. 😉

    Indira Gandhi’s Emergency is now like BJP rhetoric? That wacky BJP. What will they think of next?

  33. 84 · Ikram said

    Nope. Lalu is the Indian equivalent of Jean Chretien.

    I think the prevailing mindset among indians is that anyone who doesnt speak hindi (let alone english) without a regional accent is a ‘dehaati’ [hindi for rustic bumpkin]. he seems to be a bruiser with a populist agenda and the comparison with chretien. the classification of a manmohan singh as a ‘classy, educated’ guy is a head-scratcher when to all appearances he is a placeholder without the gumption or the clout to do anything big. From what i know of indian politics there have been better leaders before him – PVN Rao was the equivalent of Chretien who gave Singh [the equivalent to Paul Martin] the breathing room to make financial reform possible. another visionary politician was Vajbayee for thinking up the high-speed quadrilateral road system. i am also told Vajpayee wanted to link the waters of the major rivers to create a water based transit system [which is a brilliant thought imo] but that never came to fruition.

  34. voops. i got lost in the layered negatives. the english professor prob had an aneurysm there. need to amend

    is that anyone who doesnt speak hindi (let alone english) without a regional accent is a ‘dehaati’ [hindi for rustic bumpkin].

    … is that anyone who speaks hindi (let alone english) with a regional accent is a ‘dehaati’ [hindi for bumpkin].

  35. Jef,

    I am not sure if there is any truth to it but this explanation comes up at multiple places. Growing up Punjabi in Delhi with many sikh friends, I never got the feeling that these jokes were anything but offensive.

  36. Explain to a non-Indian why a guy like Manmohan would not be re-elected or re-appointed as prime minister?

    Also, how entrenched is the caste system in India today? Is Lalu from a lower caste? And what is wrong with representing the state and the people of Bihar?

    What about a guy like Chidambaram? he seems very smart. Why isn’t his name being mentioned as a possible PM?

  37. Prior to 2007 there were 7 IITs, no national universities and 6 IIMs; and they were established over 60 years.

    MMS is spearheading the creation of 8 new IITs, 14 new national universities (also referred to as world class universities), 7 new IIMs, etc. Six of the new IITs started classes in Fall 2008. His actions to more than double the number of marquee higher education institutions in India will be one of the signature actions that he will be remembered for.

  38. 83 · pingpong said

    Indira Gandhi’s Emergency is now like BJP rhetoric? That wacky BJP. What will they think of next?

    I was making fun of ham paanch hamare pancheesh 😉 (which is quite funny, racist though it might be)

  39. Wow. The idea of Lalu becoming India’s next PM is appalling…but I guess it takes something really appalling for India to change (apparently, Mumbai was not enough). If this happens, I hope that Lalu is such a disgrace, and makes such a mess of things, that educated people finally decide to get involved in government.

    You know what’s really sad? That both Lalu and Mayawati are considered serious contenders for the Premier’s seat. It just shows what a rotten, stinking mess India is.

  40. 92 · Chitta said

    Prior to 2007 there were 7 IITs, no national universities and 6 IIMs; and they were established over 60 years. MMS is spearheading the creation of 8 new IITs, 14 new national universities (also referred to as world class universities), 7 new IIMs, etc. Six of the new IITs started classes in Fall 2008. His actions to more than double the number of marquee higher education institutions in India will be one of the signature actions that he will be remembered for.

    They should create a few “Indian Institute for Political Studies” and pour the usual branding they have done with IITs to get smart people prepared for more IAS etc positions.

  41. 91 · nm said

    What about a guy like Chidambaram? he seems very smart. Why isn’t his name being mentioned as a possible PM?

    Its high time India had a Tamil PM. And no one is better than Chidambaram. But it wont happen. His nickname apparently in North Indian circles is Lungiwalla.

  42. 85 · khoofia said

    84 · Ikram said
    Nope. Lalu is the Indian equivalent of Jean Chretien.
    the classification of a manmohan singh as a ‘classy, educated’ guy is a head-scratcher when to all appearances he is a placeholder without the gumption or the clout to do anything big.

    Well, the Indo-US nuclear deal was entirely Manmohan Singh’s doing; in fact, he risked a no-confidence motion over it. One could argue that this deal is not good, but that is a separate issue. Also remember, that for most of his term, they had this “alliance” with the Communists, who were not exactly with the programme!

  45. Hi Amardeep, have to admit that i did not read your full article, had to stop after your description of Manmohan Singh. Dude, i dont know what you smoke, or where you get your info from, but manmohan is easily one of the worst PMs that India has had. And, easily the most disappointing as people thought that an educated, honest pm would do better. wont go into the details.. but i am sure anybody aware of realities in India would know the answer (u can start with no reforms…)

  46. FYI Study Pr/aising Railways by IIM paid for by Railways/Lalu Prasad

    While Indian Railways has been one of the better performing sectors in India the following adds a new dimension (Note the disregard by IIM A researchers (Gasp!) disregard for Conflict of Interest) http://www.indianexpress.com/news/IIM-A-study-praising-Lalu%92s-Railway-turnaround-was-paid-for-by-Lalu%92s-Ministry————/160344/ Indian Express >

    IIM-A study praising Lalu’s Railway turnaround was paid for by Lalu’s Ministry Raghvendra Rao Posted: Jun 24, 2007 at 2016 hrs IST

    Sam Rao http://www.indian-american.org

  48. If this is how he’ll speak to the international press, they’ll have no clue what he’s talking about

    May be that is one of the reasons why Amardeep’s sources feel that)Lalu will receive Congress support for PM 🙂

    Honestly, it will be nothing short of a miracle if either Congress or Lalu get anywhere near their current tally in 2009.They are all making hay while the sun shines, and preparing for a few years out of power, if need be.

  49. Is this Lalu? here he is giving an interview to vir sanghvi. Honestly, he sounds stoned. If this is how he’ll speak to the international press, they’ll have no clue what he’s talking about

    Wow! He speaks much better English than I would have guessed. Impressive. This man didn’t go to any fancy schools in his youth. He must have learned English as an adult, after becoming active in public life.

  50. The same could probably be said of Kapil Dev (the cricketer), who I’m sure learned English after becoming famous, and now speaks it quite well.