Advani's arrest
Lalu's 1995 triumph was mainly the result of an event soon after he became chief minister.
In 1990, BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani rode the crest of the Ayodhya Ram Temple movement by embarking on a nationwide Rath Yatra. It was seen as the ride of Hindutva forces, making the country's huge Muslim population uneasy.
On October 23, 1990, Lalu did what no state government could dare to. He had Advani arrested at Samastipur.
It cemented Lalu's position as the protector of minorities, the champion of secularism. It was an image he would exploit in the years to come, by raising the bogey of communal violence to ensure the Muslim vote came his way.
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