It was a turn of events whose disastrous effect not even the cavalier banter of Laloo Prasad Yadav could mitigate. For when the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief agreed to bifurcate Bihar a year ago, little did he anticipate the move to stultify his own political ambitions. On October 5 last year, the Supreme Court transferred 52 of the 64 fodder scam related cases to the newly formed Jharkhand state and almost immediately the Babulal Marandi Government set up special courts in Ranchi, Dumka and Chaibasa to speed up the trial. The CBI too began filing chargesheets in quick succession, especially in the cases where Laloo's name figured as a conspirator.

"Had I known that the bifurcation would affect the cases adversely, I would never have agreed to it," rues Laloo. He has reason to regret the decision. On November 26, though Laloo surrendered before the CBI court in Ranchi with much fanfare, he was lodged at a ramshackle guest house of a disused piggery products factory in Kanke, 25 km from Ranchi. Chief Minister Rabri Devi, his wife, raved, "The mosquito-infested place with broken windows was damp and dark. It was not only insecure but also posed a serious threat to his health." But Marandi couldn't be bothered. "What can my Government do? Lalooji is in judicial custody," he says without remorse.

Anarchy prevails in the Government after Laloo's arrest. Sushil Kumar Modi, Bihar Leader of Opposition

That wasn't all. Laloo was flown back to Patna to appear in the disproportionate assets case, an offshoot of the fodder scam case, in which Rabri Devi is a co-accused. By the time he secured bail in the fodder scam case, the CBI had filed a chargesheet in another case. So Laloo was released from the prison on the night of December 19 only to be thrown back into his temporary jail the next day. The order to send him back to judicial custody for two weeks came despite the apex court's observation on December 14 that "his further detention is not necessary". This has sparked a spate of allegations. Says Minister of State for Power Shyam Rajak: "The BJP, both at the Centre and in Jharkhand, is using the CBI as a political tool to torture Laloo." Shakil Ahmad Khan, law minister and Laloo's lawyer, agrees. "From the way he is being tossed around it is clear that the CBI is more interested in his persecution than prosecution." Even the Patna High Court has taken serious view of Laloo's frequent arrests, questioning the CBI's intent for doing so.

STATES IN AND OUT Laloo has been to jail six times after quitting as chief minister in 1997: July 1997: Laloo surrenders before a CBI court in fodder scam case. Spends 134 days at the Bihar Military Police guest house in Patna. October 1998: Laloo is taken into custody in another fodder scam related case. Spends 73 days at the BMP guest house and Beur Model Jail, Patna. April 2000: Taken into judicial custody in the disproportionate assets case, an offshoot of the fodder scam. Remains in Beur Jail for 11 days. November 2000: Again taken into judicial custody in the fodder scam case filed in Patna, but is imprisoned only for a day in Beur Jail. October 2001: The Supreme Court transfers 52 of the 64 fodder scam related cases to the newly formed Jharkhand state. November 2001: Laloo surrenders before the CBI court in Ranchi and is lodged at a guest house of a factory at Kanke, 25 km from Ranchi. December 2001: Released on bail from Ranchi jail on December 19, he is sent back to judicial custody at Kanke the very next day in another case.

Ever since Laloo resigned in July 1997 from the post of chief minister and handed over charge to his wife following the Rs 950-crore fodder scam, he has been in jail six times on the charge of "conspiracy". The first time was on July 30, 1997 in connection with the fodder scam case when he spent 134 days at the Bihar Military Police guest house in Patna. The second time he was hauled in the same guest house for 73 days beginning October 28, 1998 but was shifted to the Beur Model Jail after the Supreme Court's objection. The third incarceration lasted 11 days from April 5, 2000 in connection with the assets case, when he was sent to Beur Jail along with his wife who managed to secure bail. The next imprisonment lasted only a day on November 28, 2000.

Since November 26, however, Laloo has been forced to move between Ranchi's factory and Patna's Beur Jail with high frequency. But the worse is yet to come. Once the trial in the special courts begins his presence will be required in Patna, Ranchi, Dumka and Chaibasa, leaving him little time for political activities. "Through these cases the BJP is desperately trying to destabilise the Rabri Government," alleges Laloo. "They failed to defeat us in the elections. Now they are using the CBI though they know they will never succeed."

Laloo's frequent trips to jail have, however, started worrying even the BJP. Party leaders admit that his repeated incarceration was sending out the wrong signal-of political persecution-and that it would help create a sympathy wave for him. Samata Party spokesperson P.K. Sinha, a leading campaigner against Laloo-Rabri rule, disagrees. According to him, people have accepted that Laloo was involved in the scam and as such he no longer attracts any sympathy.

There are others who believe that the fodder scam is a non-issue for the BJP. "We exploited it to our advantage in the 1996 Lok Sabha polls when Laloo and his party lost nine seats. Since then no party, including the BJP, has gained much, and in the 2000 assembly polls even the NDA could not stop Rabri Devi from returning to power," says a senior BJP leader who was in the forefront of the campaign to bring in the CBI for investigating the fodder scam.

Meanwhile, state Leader of Opposition Sushil Kumar Modi is convinced that Laloo's arrest and trial in Jharkhand has weakened his and Rabri's hold over the RJD and Government. "Total anarchy prevails in the Government after Laloo's arrest in Ranchi. Whatever was being done in the name of development has come to a halt while the law and order situation has collapsed," he says.

Among the instances of anarchy Modi cites the gunning down of eight RJD leaders and workers in Sheikhpura in the war of supremacy between two Congress ministers; the daylight jailbreak in Nawadah in which at least two ministers were allegedly involved; and the demand by Minister of State for Commercial Taxes Dadan Yadav for the sacking of Excise Minister Shivanand Tiwary. Tiwary, alleges Yadav, was one of the petitioners who as a Samata Party leader had asked for the handing over of the fodder scam case to the CBI.

Whatever the consequences of his frequent arrests, Laloo alone seems to be responsible for his current miseries. In the past, he had successfully manoeuvred the situation to his advantage-when the CBI started filing cases against him, the Rabri Devi Government delayed the setting up of special courts on one pretext or the other with the clear political motive of shielding Laloo from further legal scrutiny. Not this time. Even Laloo's supporters agree that the creation of the special courts in Jharkhand have spelt doom for the former chief minister as it would help speed up the trial which had been virtually grounded.

What the Rabri Devi Government had overlooked was the fact that the Central Government, with Supreme Court concurrence, had offered a one-year extension to CBI Additional Director U.N. Biswas with the sole purpose of taking the fodder scam cases to their logical conclusion even as a special bench of the high court was monitoring its progress. Biswas, who is set to retire by January-end, has not only hastened the cases in which Laloo is allegedly involved but has also ensured that if he manages to secure bail in one case he is instantly remanded to judicial custody in another case.

Fortunately for Laloo, in all the cases in which his name figures as a "conspirator" he has already been jailed or granted bail. And though he may be forced into running from pillar to post to defend himself, the circumstances might still lend Laloo enough scope to project himself as a leader who has been more sinned against than sinning. It will then be the BJP's turn to worry. Again.