Stunned by the rout of his Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar andJharkhand in the Lok Sabha election, Lalu Prasad had given up lunch after thedeclaration of poll results on May 23 for two days.
Prasad had the meal on Sunday, May 26, after doctors,worried for his health, pleaded him that proper food intake was required forhis medication to continue, Dr Umesh Prasad, head of the team looking afterhim, told PTI on Monday.
The RJD president is under treatment for blood pressure,sugar and kidney ailment at the Ranchi-based Rajendra Prasad Institute ofMedical Sciences since December 2017 after he was sent to jail by a court, RIMSsources said.
The doctor said Prasad’s health parameters are normal.
The jovial RJD supremo, known for his earthy humours,apparently could not digest that his party drew a blank in its stronghold Biharand also in the neighbouring Jharkhand.
This is the first instance after its inception in 1997, thatthe RJD could not win a parliamentary seat in Bihar but it’s the second time ina row that it failed to open account.
Heading the ‘mahagathbandhan’ in Bihar, the RJD had foughton 19 seats and shared Arrah constituency with CPI(ML); it got a drubbing atthe hands of NDA on all the seats.
Prasad’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti was defeated for asecond time by Union minister Ramkripal Yadav, her father’s former closeassociate, on Pataliputra constituency.
On Saran seat, held by the RJD president for several timesin the past, Chandrika Rai, father-in-law of his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav,tasted defeat at the hands of BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, only Kishanganj was wonby Congress, a grand alliance ally.
This was the first occasion that RJD went into an electionwithout its popular leader Lalu Prasad. His wife Rabri Devi and son and heirapparent Tejashwi Yadav could do little to perk party’s poll performance.
Even during the “Modi wave” of 2014, RJD hadmanaged to win four Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.
Later, in the Bihar election, Prasad’s party in alliancewith JD(U) and Congress emerged as the single largest party with 80 MLAs. ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar left the grand alliance in July 2017 and joined handswith BJP again.
RJD spokesman Mritunjay Tiwari told PTI over phone fromPatna, that the party would discuss in detail what went wrong for it in theelection. But he said Prasad’s absence was a big reason for the drubbing.
Tiwari said the results have given the party “alesson” which the leadership would definitely take into account to winback people’s support.
The RJD, which formed the mahagathbandhan with Congress, JMMand Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), got only Palamau (SC) seat as perthe seat-sharing adjustment among them.
But it lost the seat. In Koderma, former RJD state unitpresident Annapurna Devi fought on BJP ticket and defeated JVM presidentBabulal Marandi.
RJD leaders on Monday are meeting for a review of theparty’s humiliating performance, its leader Kailash Yadav said.