RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday led his first and only roadshow this election season in Danapur to campaign for Ritlal Yadav.
Ritlal Yadav, facing over 40 criminal cases involving charges of murder, extortion, rioting, and criminal intimidation, first came into the spotlight in 2003.
Ritlal has been lodged in the Bhagalpur jail since he surrendered in the Danapur court on April 17, 2025.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday led his first and only roadshow this election season in Danapur to campaign for Ritlal Yadav, who remains behind bars for multiple criminal cases.
Ritlal Yadav, facing over 40 criminal cases involving charges of murder, extortion, rioting, and criminal intimidation, first came into the spotlight in 2003 when he was accused in the murder of BJP leader Satyanarayan Sinha, husband of former MLA Asha Devi Sinha.
Ritlal first earned Lalu Prasad Yadav’s favour when he extended support to Lalu’s daughter, Misa Bharti, during her campaign from the Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency, even after being denied an RJD ticket from the same seat. Though Misa ultimately lost the election, Lalu rewarded Ritlal’s loyalty by inducting him into the party and appointing him as its General Secretary.
In 2010, Ritlal Yadav surrendered in connection with several criminal cases filed against him and contested the Bihar Assembly elections that year as an independent candidate from prison and lost. While still incarcerated, he later contested the 2015 MLC elections independently and won. In 2020, after being released on bail, Ritlal contested the Bihar Assembly elections as an RJD candidate and defeated Asha Devi Sinha to secure victory from the Danapur seat. Prior to Ritlal’s win, Sinha had won the Danapur seat in 2005, 2010 and 2015 on a BJP ticket.
Ritlal has been lodged in the Bhagalpur jail since he surrendered in the Danapur court on April 17, 2025. He has been accused of demanding Rs 50 lakh from builder Kumar Gaurav and threatening him. He was initially remanded to Beur Jail in Patna but shifted to the high-security Bhagalpur prison amid concerns that he was calling the shots from behind bars.
The BJP, on the other hand, has fielded Ram Kripal Yadav, a former Union minister and one-time close aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav who parted ways with the RJD in 2014, as its candidate in Danapur. Aiming to split the Yadav vote base, the BJP hopes to reclaim the seat it had dominated for three consecutive elections before losing it in 2020.
