Lalu Prasad and (above) Tej Pratap

Patna, July 12: A cabinet berth continues to elude Lalu Prasad but his son today got a seat in the very institution which became a springboard for the Bihar leader’s burst into politics three decades ago.

Tej Pratap, the 21-year-old elder son of the state’s erstwhile first couple, today took admission at the prestigious BN (Bihar National) College where he will study political science for a Bachelor of Arts degree. His father had obtained a masters degree in political science from the same college, which is affiliated to Patna University.

The subject wasn’t Tej’s first choice — he had taken the entrance test for the Bachelor of Business Administration course at the same college, but failed to clear it. He secured 296 marks out of 500 in his Class XII examination from Rammohan Roy Seminary School on Ashok Rajpath here.

Tej has so far shunned politics and, unlike his earthy father, has shown a yen for soaring in the skies — the strapping lad is pursuing a course for obtaining a commercial pilot’s licence at the Bihar Flying Institute in Patna. His younger brother Tejaswi, a budding cricketer, has shown some political inclination and accompanied his parents on several campaigns during last year’s Assembly elections. Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi have seven daughters, who, too, have so far stayed away from politics.

Clad in a white shirt and black trousers, Tej, accompanied by a security guard, reached the college in an SUV around 11am and, after meeting some student leaders, headed for the admission counters. No entrance test is required for admission to the political science course — his marks were enough to secure him a seat.

His father though wasn’t as lucky. Lalu Prasad, who had lobbied hard for a cabinet berth, was ignored in today’s ministry rejig, triggering speculation about his future in politics.(See Page 4)

Going through a low now, Lalu Prasad had been one of the emerging luminaries during his days at BN College in the early seventies when he was president of the university students’ union and, like many others of his generation, joined the movement started by Jai Prakash Narayan.

Teachers at BN College said Tej did not have the trappings of a political scion and waited in queue like the other students. However, some student leaders who had prior information about Tej’s arrival came out to greet him. Sanjeev Sardar, one such student leader, said: “After finishing his admission formalities, Laluji’s son visited various departments and rued the dilapidated condition of the college building.”

M.N. Sinha, a teacher at the institution, recalled that when Lalu Prasad was chief minister during the nineties, he had given Rs 40 lakh to the college for renovation and construction work. With his son taking admission, the teachers hope Lalu Prasad would provide some money from his MP’s fund for renovation and construction.

The college is also plagued by a severe staff shortage. The political science department, for example, has just one professor and the college has to depend on research scholars for taking classes.