Patna,(BiharTimes): Veteran politician Shivanand Tiwari on Monday called it a day after playing politics for about half a century.Born in the family of socialist leader, Ramanand Tiwari, he was associated with poliical activities right from his student’s day in 1960s.

Though he was senior to the trio of Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi yet he took part in the 1974 movement led by Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan.However, it was after 1990 that he became a part of power politics. He was close to Lalu Prasad Yadav, but left him in mid-1990s and became one of the founders of the Samata Party in October 1994.

Along with the BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi he petitioned the Patna high court to seek CBI probe into the fodder scam.However, a few years later he re-joined the Lalu Prasad camp or his new party the RJD. He became one of his vocal supporters. In 2000 he was made the Excise Minister in the Rabri Devi cabinet.

But Shivanand’s relationship with some of the party’s leaders as well the two brothers-in-law of Lalu Prasad was never cordial for obvious reasons. Some RJD leaders always suspected him as his petition was responsible for what had happened to Lalu Prasad later in his life. Still RJD supremo reposed full faith in him.

After the defeat of RJD in 2005 Assembly election he remained in the party for a few months. But he started feeling alienated as Lalu had shifted to Delhi where he was the high-profile railway minister.He became upset when Lalu did not name him as the first of the two candidates for the election for two Rajya Sabha seats.

which was held in 2006. The first name was of Jabir Husain. However, after his refusal Lalu put up Rajniti Prasad. Both Jabir and Rajniti won the election and entered the Upper House.A few months later Shivanand joined the Janata Dal (United) after he was requested by Nitish to do so. In 2008 he became
the Janata Dal (United)’s Rajya Sabha MP. According to Tiwari he made up his mind to retire from the
politics after his expulsion from the Janata Dal (United) earlier this year.

Along with N K Singh and Sabir Ali he was denied re-nomination for the Rajya Sabha in Jan 2014. He paid the price for his plainspeaking at the Janata Dal (United)’s Chintan Shivir in Rajgir a day after Hunkar Rally of Narendra
Modi on October 27, 2013.

As a spokesman first of Lalu’s RJD and then Nitish’s JD(U) he always used to be lethal in his attack on the political opponents. Both Lalu and Nitish, like many others in the political circle used to address him as ‘Baba’.Now at 72 Shivanand Tiwari is planning to write a book on his political life and his relationship with Lalu and Nitish.It would be very difficult to differentiate between the treatment meted out to him by Lalu and Nitish, but one thing is clear: the RJD chief never expelled Baba as Nitish did earlier this year, though he just gave a good piece advice to him in Rajgir last year.

Not only that Nitish publicly humiliated him in a speech in Patna.In contrast Lalu inducted him into his party in late 1990s though Tiwari moved court against him only a couple of years before––and Lalu had to suffer for it.

Sources claim that the RJD chief was still inclined towards Baba, but was compelled by several leaders within his party who opposed the re-entry.