Subhash Yadav in political wilderness

PATNA: Guess what Subhash Yadav, the younger "saala" (brother-in-law) of RJD supremo and former CM Lalu Prasad, is doing now? By his own admission, he is involved in social service these days. "I am not involved in political activities at present. I have devoted myself to social service," he says.
Subhash is a dejected man these days. He had once enjoyed great clout in Bihar due to his proximity to his "jija" and sister Rabri Devi.But, today, by a quirk of fate, he finds himself in political wilderness.
During the 15-year-long reign of Lalu and Rabri, Subhash and his elder brother Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav had emerged as extra-constitutional centres of power, sparking many controversies from time to time. They were allegedly involved in many scams, held darbars of officers and politicians and moved around with their supporters and security personnel.
But once Lalu-Rabri regime was gone after the 2005 assembly polls, Subhash found himself cut down to size, just like Sadhu. Compulsions of opposition politics forced Lalu not to give VVIP treatment to his "saalas". The last straw came when Subhash was denied renomination to the Rajya Sabha by the RJD when his term came to an end in May 2010.
That left Subhash livid. After brooding for a while, he decided to do a Sadhu Yadav on Lalu. Sadhu, incidentally, had quit RJD last year and joined the Congress. On September 20 this year, Subhash quit RJD with much fanfare. He called Lalu a "spent force" and advised him to "retire from politics". He termed the RJD a "sinking boat".
He had hoped that the Congress would welcome him with open arms. But his luck ran out. Not only did the Congress president Sonia Gandhi denied him an audience, the party declined to admit him into its fold. That has left Subhash with few options. He is a sulking man now. Sources close to him, however, said he might throw his hat in the ring as an Independent candidate.
Years ago, when Lalu was asked if Sadhu and Subhash were running a parallel power centre, the former had said, "I am a thermal power station. They are sub-stations. If I choose to close down, they will be gone." Lalu seems to have proved prophetic, for now!