Patna: Former Union minister Raghunath Jha's demise has saddened Lalu Prasad and his family.

Tejashwi Yadav said he was in grief over "Raghunath chacha's death" and had informed his father when he met him in Ranchi jai. "I felt sad," Lalu himself told journalists while appearing in the CBI court in connection with the fodder scam. In Patna, the RJD issued a press note saying how sad the entire family was.

Raghunath, 78, who died at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi early on Monday, was not an RJD member in his last days. In fact, he had revolted against the party in 2014 to contest as a Samajwadi Party candidate. But he is the man who made it possible for Lalu Prasad to become chief minister for the first time in 1990.

When the Janata Dal swept the Assembly polls in 1990, defeating the Congress, there was a contest for the post of chief of Janata Dal legislative party and thus chief minister of the state. Then Prime Minister VP Singh wanted the crown to go to former chief minister Ram Sundar Das while Devi Lal wanted Lalu Prasad in the seat.

Raghunath was then state president of the Janata Dal and very close to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. He stepped in as the third candidate. In the secret voting that took place, he polled just 12 votes but sliced away enough Ram Sundar votes to give Lalu a 3-vote edge.

Lalu rewarded him with key ministries. It was under his pressure that Sheohar, which Raghunath represented for six terms as MLA, was made a full-fledged district.

But the two fell out and Raghunath joined Nitish's Samata Party and was made the party's state chief. He was elected from Gopalganj Lok Sabha seat from a Samata Party ticket. In 2004, he switched sides to Lalu again and became MP from West Champaran and later a Union minister of state for heavy industries and public enterprise in the Manmohan Singh government.

For the last few years he went into political oblivion after suffering a kidney ailment.

But for Bihar, he was the man who made the Lalu Prasad phenomenon possible.

Raghunath's political career spanned four decades and he had personal ties with leaders across the party line.

It is hardly surprising then that chief minister Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi were among the first to mourn his death.

PTI quoted Nitish saying that Raghunath "was a skilled political leader and a devoted social worker". He also declared that Raghunath's cremation would be held with full state honours. Raghunath's son and two-time RJD MLA Ajit Kumar Jha said his father's body would be taken to his native district of Sheohar, via Patna, for the last rites.