Lalu Prasad Yadav is a formidable force in Indian politics and has successfully projected himself as a champion of the Yadavs and other backward classes. His wacky histrionics, quaint mannerisms, verbal dramas and political adventures have ensured that the former Bihar chief minister is never far from the headlines.

Lalu was union minister of railways from 2004 to 2009 in the United Progressive Alliance government and calls the shots as President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

He was born in Phulwaria in the Gopalganj district of Bihar and plunged into the rough and tumble of politics during his student days at Patna University. He was elected a member of the Lok Sabha in 1977 as a Janata Party candidate. At the age of 29 he was one of its youngest members of Parliament.

Lalu served as the chief minister of Bihar from 1990 till 1997, when he resigned following spiralling corruption charges in the fodder scam. He brought his wife, Rabri Devi, as his successor and she ruled the state from 1997 to 2005, with brief interruptions.

Lalu formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal in 1997, after breaking away from the Janata Dal. According to the Limca Book of Records, he is the longest serving president of an Indian political party. He remained in power in Bihar for more than 15 years before being trounced in the 2005 elections by a combine led by Nitish Kumar.

As the union railway minister, Lalu is credited with ushering in several novel changes. He banned plastic cups to serve tea at railway stations and had them replaced with kulhads (earthen cups). When he took over, the Indian Railways was deep in the red. In just four years he turned it around and made a profit of Rs 25,000 crores. His surprising success as a minister drew the applause and attention of well-known management schools around the world.

Lalu has addressed students from Harvard, Wharton and others in Hindi. He has received invitations from several Ivy League schools for lectures. The turnaround of the Indian Railways is a case study for the students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Prof G. Raghuram, a faculty member, IIM-A, has conducted a detailed study on the railways turnaround.

Many books have been written in praise of Lalu including Lalu Chalisa and Lalu Hala. Lalu is extremely popular with mimicry artistes who love to mimic his rustic mannerisms on stage. And the Lalu hair cut is a big style statement in Bihar. A Patna-based company launched "Lalu Khaini" in 2004 and the next year another company introduced "Laluji" dolls that caught the imagination of kids.

In 2006, New Delhi-based Chetak tasted success with Lalu ka Khzana, a chocolate candy popular with kids in rural areas of north Bihar districts. Its wrapper depicted two different caricatures of Lalu - one as a politician and the other as a magician. That's not all: a cosmetic pack branded as Lalu Chale Sasural ("Lalu goes to in-laws house") became popular among rural Bihari girls. The same year Prakash Agro Industries in Bihar started selling cattle fodder under the brand name Lalu Pashu Aahar. It too became hugely popular. But interestingly, it was the fodder scam that hit Lalu's political fortunes.

Lalu and Rabri Devi have two sons and seven daughters. His large family, he says, is a protest against Indira Gandhi's family planning campaign during the Emergency of 1975-77.