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Lalu Prasad’s homecoming peps up son Tej Pratap’s wedding celebrations
Groom-to-be Tej Pratap in bright yellow kurta, Tejashwi in crisp white kurta-pyjama and daughter Misa were among the family members who came to receive Lalu Prasad at Patna airport
It was a happy homecoming for Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, who reached Patna after four-and-a-half months on Thursday evening to attend his elder son’s wedding on May 12.
The celebratory mood inside and outside 10, Circular Road, the official residence of former chief minister Rabri Devi, was evident much before the IndiGo flight (6E-6325) with Prasad on board touched down at the Jay Prakash Narayan International airport in Patna at 6.35pm. Prasad, who has been convicted in three fodder scam cases, has been granted three-day parole .
The Patna airport was teeming with RJD supporters seeking a glimpse of their leader. As Prasad came out of the airport terminal building at 6.49pm on a wheelchair, people whipped out their mobile phones while cameramen and TV crew jostled to capture him in their frame.
Clad in a bright yellow kurta, groom-to-be Tej Pratap Yadav, Prasad’s younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, in a crisp white kurta-pyjama, and eldest daughter Misa Bharti were among the family members to receive Prasad at the Patna airport.
Tej Pratap pushed Prasad’s wheelchair after an IndiGo staffer brought Prasad inside the airport terminal building from the tarmac. Tejashwi and Bharti walked next to him.
Prasad’s supporters shouted slogans “Lalu Yadav zindabad”, as they swarmed his vehicle.
Securitymen had a tough time managing the crowd before his convoy finally left the airport at 7pm. It took almost 20 minutes for Prasad’s convoy to traverse the distance of 2 km (approx.) from the airport to his residence, as hundreds of supporters escorted him on their SUVs and two-wheelers.
A horde of supporters were waiting outside Rabri Devi’s residence, which was bedecked with flowers and shimmering lights.
Earlier in the afternoon, women party workers danced and rejoiced outside 10, Circular Road, smearing abeer (colour) on each other’s faces in anticipation of Prasad’s homecoming.
Prasad had travelled business class, seated in the front row of the IndiGo flight from Ranchi, accompanied by party legislator Bhola Yadav. Many fliers flocked to Prasad and took selfies with the Yadav leader as soon as they spotted him inside the security hold area of the Birsa Munda airport in Ranchi.
Prasad was a picture of poise as he kept mum and did not give any sound byte — not even his signature one-liners — to the waiting electronic media at the two airports and outside his residence.
The celebrations had begun on May 9 as Tej Pratap and his brother danced at the mehendi ceremony at the residence of party legislator Chandrika Rai. Tej Pratap got engaged to Rai’s daughter Aishwarya at a posh hotel in Patna on April 18.
