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Former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was today sentenced to five years in prison.
Yadav, who was convicted in the 17-year-old multi-crore fodder scam by a CBI court in Ranchi on Monday, was also fined Rs 25 lakh.
Former chief minister and co-accused Jagannath Mishra has been sentenced to four years in prison.
RJD, meanwhile, said that they will challenge the order in a higher court.
According to a recent Supreme Court ruling, the conviction disqualifies Prasad from continuing as a member of Parliament (MP).
Yadav was sent to Birsa Munda central jail in Ranchi post his conviction by the CBI court. With the court order, it remains to be seen who will take up the mantle of RJD.
The front runners are Prasad's wife Rabri Devi and his younger son Tejashwi Yadav. This will not be the first time for Rabri Devi to step into her husband's shoes. In 1997, when Prasad had to resign, he appointed Rabri Devi as chief minister of Bihar. Rabri Devi remained as the CM till 2005, until JD(U)-BJP combine ended the RJD rule.
Now with crisis looming large over the RJD, Rabri Devi has emerged as the most favoured candidate to assume Prasad's role.
Meanwhile, a section of the party sees a bigger role for Tejashwi Yadav in the near future. Tejashwi, 24, grew up away from family. He was sent to Delhi when he was just eight years old to study at Delhi Public School, RK Puram. He tried his hand at cricket, but success eluded him. Later, he took to politics and campaigned for his mother in the 2010 assembly election. Being Prasad's favourite son, he climbed the political ladder rather comfortably. However, his lack of experience and ambitious senior party leaders may make his political journey difficult. He could also face challenge from his elder brother, Tej Pratap.
There are many RJD leaders also waiting in the wings. A promotion will take one of them to helm of the affairs. A small group within the party had also considered a third alternative: a core group of five senior leaders will run the party in the absence of Prasad. However, there were not many takers in the party for this idea. A few days ago, Prasad himself brushed aside this idea.
