E-Paper
Lalu Prasad Yadav set to contest Presidential polls? Wait, here’s a twist
He had filed his nomination papers in 2017 as well when the then Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind was elected as the President of India. Yadav’s papers were ultimately rejected due to lack of support.
Lalu Prasad Yadav is all set to visit Delhi to file his nomination on Wednesday for the upcoming Presidential polls. However, the ‘Lalu Prasad’ in question is not the 74-year-old Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief, but a 42-year-old resident from Bihar’s Saran district.
Firm in his belief that there must be a Bihari in the contest, Yadav says he has already booked a flight to Delhi to file his nomination papers for the second time. He had filed his nomination papers in 2017 as well when the then Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind was elected as the President of India. Yadav’s papers were ultimately rejected due to lack of support.
“My papers got rejected last time since it was not endorsed by an adequate number of proposers. This time, I am better prepared,” Yadav told news agency PTI. "I keep trying my luck, from panchayats to presidentship. If nothing else, I may come to hold the record for contesting the maximum number of elections,” he added.
In 2013, Yadav had also contested against his famous namesake’s wife Rabri Devi, the first and only woman till date to have served as the chief minister of Bihar. He polled less than 10,000 votes and forfeited his deposit.
BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy won the polls by a margin of around 50,000 votes. Undeterred, Yadav again joined the fray in 2019 and polled about 6,000 votes.
Like the RJD chief, Yadav also comes from an agricultural background and has seven children. “I practise agriculture for a living and engage in social work. I have seven children. My eldest daughter is married,” he said.
The Election Commission announced on Thursday that the poll for the President of India will be held on July 18, with 4,809 members of the electoral college comprising MPs and MLAs set to elect the successor to incumbent Ram Nath Kovind.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to reach out its allies and Opposition parties through its senior leaders JP Nadda and Rajnath Singh, Trinamool Congress supremo has convened a meeting of leaders of like-minded parties in Delhi to discuss the election to the top constitutional post in the country.
(With inputs from agencies)
