RJD president Lalu Prasad returned to his home turf of Bihar on Friday amid the buzz that he will throw his weight behind Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's efforts to forge "opposition unity" ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls.
Prasad, whose unconditional offer of support to Kumar, an arch-rival, helped the latter survive in power while elbowing out ally BJP, is back home after a gap of seven months which saw him travel to Singapore for a kidney transplant operation followed by a long period of recuperation in Delhi.
The septuagenarian, who was brought out of the airport here in a wheelchair, looked frail in a T-shirt and track pants and a mask wrapped around his face.
He was accompanied, among others, by younger son Tejashwi Yadav, his party's heir apparent who has earned the Deputy CM's chair as a result of the churn in Bihar politics last year.
Enthusiastic supporters stood in the scorching heat, waiting for a glimpse of their leader. Security personnel had a challenging time ensuring that the slogan-shouting crowd did not venture too close to the VIPs.
Prasad nodded and waved at party supporters as he was rushed to his son's car, covered with flower petals. His cavalcade drove to his wife Rabri Devi's house, where he puts up whenever he is in Patna.