He was elected as a member of the Lok Sabha in 1977 as a Janata party candidate, at the age of 29, becoming one of its youngest members. He was re-elected as a member of Lok Sabha in 1989 (till April 1990), 1998 and 2004. He served as Bihar's Chief Minister from March 1990 to July 1997 but was later forced to resign following escalating corruption charges in the Fodder scam. Lalu Prasad was appointed as Janata Dal President from January 1996 to July 1997. In 1997, Lalu broke away from Janata Dal and formed a new party called Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and since 1997 he has been the President of RJD. In April 2002 he was elected as a member of Rajya Sabha and even became RJD leader in Rajya Sabha. He has also served as a member of Consultative Committee, Ministry of Rural Development; Business Advisory Committee member of Rajya Sabha and member of Committee on Home Affairs.
