Political vendetta or legitimate probe? ED summons Lalu Yadav in land-for-jobs case

On this episode of Capital Beat, senior journalist Faizan Ahmed and independent media analyst Siddharth Sharma joined the discussion on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent summons to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in the ongoing land-for-jobs money laundering case. The development follows the questioning of his wife, former Bihar CM Rabri Devi, and his son, Tej Pratap Yadav. With the Bihar assembly elections nearing, the timing of this probe has sparked a fierce political debate.

The case against Lalu Yadav

The land-for-jobs case, dating back to Lalu Yadav’s tenure as Railway Minister, alleges that individuals were given employment in exchange for land parcels. The ED has already filed a chargesheet naming Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi, their children Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, Misa Bharti, and Hema. The agency claims to have a strong paper trail linking these transactions to railway jobs.

Faizan Ahmed pointed out that the ED has been questioning the family extensively in recent weeks.

“Lalu Yadav has already been interrogated in Delhi. Now, he is facing the probe in Patna,” he noted.

The ED reportedly asked Rabri Devi to explain land ownership details and whether those who transferred land to her were later employed in the Railways.

'BJP using same playbook as Delhi'

Tejashwi Yadav and Misa Bharti have termed the probe as an attempt to weaken the RJD before the elections.

“This is a vendetta. We don’t even remember how many times our family has been summoned,” Tejashwi remarked.

Also Read: No law and order in Bihar; Nitish Kumar has failed: Lalu Yadav on torching of Dalit houses

Misa Bharti went further, alleging that the ED is being used as a tool to derail the opposition ahead of crucial state polls.

Siddharth Sharma highlighted the timing of such cases, drawing parallels with past instances. “This is similar to what happened in Delhi with the Aam Aadmi Party. Before elections, key leaders were arrested, only to be released later. The same playbook is being used in Bihar,” he argued.

ED’s conviction rate raises doubts

One of the most striking revelations came from Sharma, who cited official data on the ED’s performance.

“Out of 193 cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), only two have led to convictions. That’s less than 1 per cent,” he pointed out.

He suggested that the BJP’s strategy in Bihar could be to tarnish RJD’s image rather than secure legal convictions.

Faizan Ahmed added that corruption allegations have historically not dented RJD’s electoral standing. “The fodder scam case has been around for over 25 years, yet RJD remains the number one party in Bihar,” he said.

BJP’s electoral strategy

Siddharth Sharma explained that Bihar’s political landscape differs from other states.

“Unlike in other states where national parties lead, in Bihar, regional parties dominate. RJD has a strong 23-24 per cent vote share, while the BJP and the Congress combined have only 27 per cent,” he noted.

Also Read: ED summons Lalu, Tejashwi for questioning in land-for-jobs PMLA case

This, he argued, explains BJP’s aggressive push to curb RJD’s momentum.

“They’re not just targetting Tejashwi Yadav, but the entire family. That shows how seriously BJP sees RJD as a threat.”

Is BJP trying to weaken Nitish Kumar too?

Interestingly, BJP’s focus may not just be on RJD. Faizan Ahmed highlighted a growing belief that the party also wants to weaken its ally, JD(U), led by Nitish Kumar.

“BJP has never ruled Bihar with its own chief minister. There’s speculation that they aim to reduce both RJD and JD(U)’s influence and take over the state entirely.”

Ahmed recalled how, in 2020, Chirag Paswan’s LJP contested against JD(U) candidates, allegedly at BJP’s behest, leading to JD(U)’s reduced seat tally.

“This time, BJP might again attempt to weaken Nitish Kumar while also targeting RJD,” he speculated.

BJP’s strategy could backfire

The panel debated whether BJP’s plan could boomerang. Siddharth Sharma noted that in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP arrested multiple opposition leaders, including Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal, but still lost ground nationally.

“If Tejashwi Yadav and his family members are arrested, and later released before elections, it could generate a sympathy wave for the RJD,” said Sharma.

Also Read: Broken Promises review: A fine primer on Bihar’s complex political landscape

Furthermore, the Bihar electorate has historically prioritised caste-based politics and social justice over corruption allegations. Sharma suggested that BJP’s reluctance to support a caste census puts it at odds with the majority of Bihar voters.

“RJD’s core strength is social justice, and that’s why they are pulling ahead.”

The overarching question

With assembly elections scheduled for October-November, the coming months will determine whether BJP’s strategy succeeds or backfires. The land-for-jobs case continues to dominate Bihar’s political discourse, with RJD using it to rally its base while BJP attempts to paint the opposition as corrupt.

As the panel concluded, the overarching question remained: Will this probe genuinely expose corruption, or is it just another political manoeuvre in the run-up to Bihar’s crucial state elections?

(The content above has been generated using a fine-tuned AI model. To ensure accuracy, quality, and editorial integrity, we employ a Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) process. While AI assists in creating the initial draft, our experienced editorial team carefully reviews, edits, and refines the content before publication. At The Federal, we combine the efficiency of AI with the expertise of human editors to deliver reliable and insightful journalism.)