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Laloo campaigns for Rabri

Rashtriya Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav is proving to be a dutiful husband. He has got wife Rabri Devi installed as the first woman chief minister of Bihar and helped her govern the state, sometimes even from jail.

Now he is ensuring her victory from Raghopur assembly seat, campaigning through the night, while Rabri is yet to visit the constituency from where she is contesting a by-election on May 26.

On May 8 she filed her nomination papers at the district headquarters Hajipur and made a speech. Raghopur falls under Hajipur district and is 20-minute drive from there. Hajipur is Union Telecommunications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan's parliamentary constituency.

She was then accompanied by her samdhi and samdhan, that is father-in-law and mother-in-law of daughter Misa, and brothers Sadhu and Subhash.

However, it was when her husband was released on May 11 that he took up electioneering. The following day, he was about to leave for Raghopur, when news of the massacre of 11 labourers in Lakhisarai reached Patna. He first went to the carnage spot and later in the evening went to Raghopur.

Raghopur is like Amethi for the Laloo-Rabri family. The RJD chief fought and won assembly elections in 1995 and 2000. Since both times he also contested from Danapur he had to give up one seat.

In 1995, he vacated Danapur, while this time he gave up Raghopur as the former (Danapur) became the samdhiana (daughter's sasural).

What is important is Laloo's style of campaigning. He often starts from Patna late in the afternoon and returns by midnight or the following morning. Last Wednesday, he left Patna around 1 pm and returned on Thursday morning.

On Thursday, he once left for Raghopur in the evening, only to return late at night. His departure from Patna was delayed that day as Samata Party state general secretary Bhim Singh was to join the RJD at a function in the state capital.

Laloo is mostly accompanied by State Excise Minister Shivanand Tiwary, Law Minister Shakeel Ahmed Khan or RJD leader Kanchan Bala. Intense heat prompted the RJD chief to undertake the campaign in the evening.

Rabri's victory is a foregone conclusion but Laloo is utilising this occasion to mix with people. He goes house to house and eats and drinks whatever is offered to him.

The Janata Dal (U) candidate in the February assembly election, Vishhudeo Rai, is now in the RJD. The JD(U) has given a ticket to Beera Devi, a Rajput, while Shanti Devi an Independent, is also a Rajput.

With an overwhelming Yadav population and two Rajput women in the fray, Rabri is not likely to face any hurdle. Another plus point for her is that the husbands of Beera and Shanti are rivals. On Thursday, Shanta's spouse Mahesh Singh was attacked allegedly by henchmen of the former.

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