Siwan, Sept. 11: Former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin today claimed influential people from the upper castes promoted him in the early-1990s to counter the growing influence of the erstwhile Indian People's Front, now known as CPI-ML Liberation.

The don-turned-politician - also known as "Saheb" - is infamous for being blunt. Moments after coming out of jail, he triggered a political storm by calling chief minister Nitish Kumar a "product of circumstances" and labelled prohibition as a "blind law". The Telegraph spoke to the don at his Pratappur residence. Excerpts:

• The Telegraph: What changes have you seen in Siwan after stepping out of jail after 11 years?

Shahabuddin: Let me first clarify one thing. I have returned home (Pratappur) after 13 years and not 11 years as mentioned in most media reports. I spent 11 years in prison. I remained out of Siwan for about two years as the then district authorities (then district magistrate C.K. Anil) banned my entry in Siwan before the 2005 Assembly polls. As a result, I couldn't enter Siwan even after being released from prison in early 2005. So I have returned to Pratappur after 13 years.

The most noticeable thing I have found is that the people of Siwan have mobilised on communal lines in my absence. This was exhibited during the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, which were held in my absence. Though I had never lost an electoral battle, my wife Hena Shahab, who contested the Lok Sabha elections from Siwan on the RJD ticket in 2009 and 2014, had to bite the dust. The picture became more obvious during the 2014 election fought under the leadership of Narendra Modi.

• What was the secret behind your electoral success?

I entered politics in the 1990s with the support of some influential people belonging to the upper castes. These people wanted to get rid of the Indian People's Front (IPF) to protect their landed property. They promoted me to counter the IPF. Later I emerged as the most dominating leader in Siwan against the banned outfit. I have no hesitation in admitting my fight against the Left forces (read CPI-ML Liberation), which continued for several years in Siwan. Moreover, my first conviction came in 2007 in the case related to CPI(ML) worker Chhote Lal's kidnapping.

• Have those people left you after you were sentenced in criminal cases?

Not all. But some of them might have deserted me. Had I not been in jail, they wouldn't have left the party (RJD). The BJP divided those people on communal lines to derive political mileage. As I am out of jail, I will try to convince them. There are possibilities that they will return to my camp.

• You are a member of the RJD's national executive committee. Your party chief, Lalu Prasad, has declared support for Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) in the upcoming polls. Will you go to Uttar Pradesh to campaign in favour of the SP?

I have been member of the executive committee of the RJD for the past 20 years. But earlier nobody raised the issue (referring to the BJP's recent objection to him being retained as a member of the RJD's executive committee). I think Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is now a relative of our leader Laluji, doesn't need my help as he has enough people like me to ensure his party's victory in the UP Assembly polls due next year. (Mukhtar Ansari, another don-turned politician in UP, had earlier met Shahabuddin in Siwan jail).

• Do you want to play active role in national politics now?

If the party wishes so. I have represented the Siwan Lok Sabha seat four times and also represented the Assembly twice. I am a committed worker of the party since its inception. It was because of the support of my workers that I won election as Independent from Ziradei in 1990 from behind bars.

• What will you do to change the perception of you?

I don't think I have to do anything to change my perception. You have seen the kind of support I enjoy across the state. My supporters across the state remained with me right from Bhagalpur to Pratappur (Siwan) during my journey yesterday. It was a spontaneous response of the people.

• Will you again try to regulate the fee of private medical practitioners in Siwan?

If I receive any complaints from the people, I will certainly do that. Let me first check whether the doctors are giving donations to organisations. Earlier, the doctors used to save something between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 a month. Because of my intervention, they charged less professional fee from patients, compared to other cities and towns in the state.

• You spent 11 years in jail. What was your pastime?

I developed a habit of reading books. I used to read books to mentally enrich myself even in loneliness. I have read several books, including autobiographies of eminent personalities.

• Which book do you like the most?

It's a Herculean task to judge which influenced me a lot. But Gandhian thoughts have left a great imprint on my mind.

• Apart from politics, what are your future plans?

First, I will focus on completing the works that have come to a standstill in my absence. I will look after the functioning of the engineering college, medical colleges and other academic institutions which I have to set up in Siwan. I had purchased around 125 acres of land to set up some other education institutions in Siwan. Development has come to a halt in the district for the past several years. Siwan is the second town after Patna in number of coaching institutes.