"Will Die But Won't Retreat": Lalu Yadav's First Appearance After Jail

The Rashtriya Janata Dal, fighting for the first time without Lalu Yadav leading its campaign, finished first in the November Bihar election.

Bihar politician Lalu Yadav, in his first public address in a long time, said he was alive because of his son Tejashwi Yadav and vowed not to hold back in the fight against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Visibly thinner and often slurring his words at an event to mark 25 years of the party he founded, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief praised Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of opposition in Bihar, for the way he led the party in last year's Bihar election. "Frankly, I had never expected this from him. He safely steered the RJD's boat. RJD has a bright future," said Lalu Yadav, a proud father. "But for them (wife Rabri Devi and Tejashwi), I would have perished in Ranchi."