RJD and JDU supporters perform a havan at Shitala Mandir in Patna City’s Agamkuan on Thursday for Lalu Prasad’s speedy recovery. Doctors at the Asian Heart Institute in suburban Bandra said the RJD chief, who underwent a six-hour cardiac surgery on Wednesday, was taken off the ventilator on Thursday morning and was stable. “Laluji has done a good recovery. He has been allowed to take minimal liquids orally. All his vital parameters are within normal range. His medical condition is stable,” read a statement issued by Dr Vijay D’Silva, senior intensivist and medical director of the institute in charge of post-operative care. A 20-member team led by cardiac surgeon Dr Ramakant Panda had performed the surgery. Lalu was diagnosed with aortic stenosis, a condition in which the aorta valve, which controls the flow of oxygenated blood supplied to the circulatory system, gets clogged. During surgery, doctors replaced the aorta valve, carried out aortic repair to stabilise the blood flow and repaired a 3mm hole in the heart. He is likely to be in the ICU for three more days. Text by Satish Nandgaonkar, picture by Sachin