Caste is the key
Those were the days of the Mandal Commission, and those were the days when Bihar was engulfed by riots in Bhagalpur and Hazaribagh, to name just two places.
After Lalu took over the state's reins, Bihar hardly saw communal violence again. It is one contribution even his severest critics cannot deny.
And his taking over the mantle was symbolic of the empowerment of the backward classes, reservations for whom were suggested by the Mandal Commission, leading to widespread protests throughout the country (as the picture perfectly portrays).
Caste equations were something Lalu was the master of. He carved the Muslim-Yadav alliance, and it was his key to power. A key he used to great effect.
In 1995, he swept the state elections, with an absolute majority of 165 seats in an assembly of 324. His main opponent and the new, rising force in Indian politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party, managed only 41.
From Rediff Archives: The Lalu interview, circa 1998