Favourite in-laws to complete outlaws: How RJD ousted Rabri Devi's two brothers

There was a time when the S2 (Sadhu and Subhash Yadav) reigned supreme in Bihar. But in recent times, Rabri Devi's brothers and RJD chief Lalu Prasad's brothers-in-law, have fallen from grace.

There was a time when the S2 (Sadhu and Subhash Yadav) reigned supreme in Bihar. But in recent times, Rabri Devi's brothers and RJD chief Lalu Prasad's brothers-in-law, have fallen from grace.

The brothers, who were blamed for much that was wrong during the Lalu-Rabri years (1990-2004), are now struggling for a foothold in the new scheme of things.

These days, Sadhu, who left the RJD and joined the Congress in 2009, is waiting for a call from BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to change his life. He had met Modi at Gandhinagar in August 2013 and ever since has been optimistic that Modi will field him as the BJP nominee on one of the several Lok Sabha seats he is game for. "For months after our meeting, Modiji was in touch with me. But, of late, there has been no communication between us," Sadhu said.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Modi, however, told HT that Sadhu would have to wait forever.

Subhash, who has been a Rajya Sabha member from 2004 to 2010, is eager to help Lalu's daughter Misa in Pataliputra if his help is sought, but that possibility is slim.

Sadhu fell out with Lalu after 'sahab' (Lalu) allegedly got his Gopalganj Lok Sabha seat, which he represented in the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-09), reserved for SC candidates "to cut me down to size".

"It was an error of judgement. Where does he stand today?" he said of the RJD chief.

Subhash, for his part, blamed mischief makers for driving a wedge between him and his sister's family.

RJD insiders, however, rubbish these conspiracy theories. The ouster of the two brothers had to do with Lalu's move to anoint his children, they claim. And for once, JD(U) is in agreement.

"Lalu wanted to replace S2 with T2," said a JD(U) leader, who did not want to be named. T2 as in Lalu's sons Tejaswi and Tej Pratap.