Patna: He was once the strongman of Bihar politics. But today, Nitish Kumar has trounced him on his home turf, and the UPA has given him the cold shoulder. With no room for him in the new UPA cabinet, Lalu Yadav, is trying to pick up the pieces.
On the day the rest of Manmohan Singh's team was sworn in, this former Railway Minister was busy discussing his party's disastrous performance in the Lok sabha elections with his party colleagues.
For more than 2 hours, Lalu Yadav and all important leaders of his party were huddled together inside his house.
But did Lalu find any answers?
"The secular votes got divided in Bihar, that is why the NDA won," he says.
Sources say that partly leaders felt the lack of a tie-up with the Congress, and the lack of communication with party cadre, as the main reasons behind the RJD's poor showing. Lalu's next big test will be the Assembly elections in November next year.
He has until then to rebuild his party.