Lalu Prasad, prisoner No 3312, to be sentenced via video conference today

Ranchi: Lalu Prasad's lawyers today argued that he was too old and suffered from many diseases, to counter the CBI's plea for maximum punishment of seven years in jail for the Bihar politician in the fodder scam case.

Mr Prasad, who is prisoner number 3312 at Ranchi's Birsa Munda Central jail, will not be in court this afternoon when a CBI judge announces sentence in the fodder scam case in which he was convicted on Monday. All 45 convicts in the case will be informed about their fate through teleconference.

The 66-year-old Rashtriya Janata Dal chief could face a maximum of seven years in prison.

The CBI appealed for maximum punishment, saying it should be a message that such crimes will not be tolerated.

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But Mr Prasad's lawyers argued for leniency on several grounds, including that he was a 'senior citizen and suffered from many diseases." They also said he was an eminent citizen who had brought railways to profit as Railways Minister.

Monday's conviction means that Mr Prasad will lose his Lok Sabha membership and will be barred from contesting elections for six years after he has served his prison term, according to a recent Supreme Court order.

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To many that would seem like the end of his political career. But clearly not Lalu Prasad, who has since Monday turned the Birsa Munda jail into the new headquarters of the RJD. He has held a series of meetings with top party leaders, eaten home-cooked food brought by them and discussed an action plan.

Lalu reportedly does not favour appointing an interim head for the RJD just yet, hoping for early relief from the High Court, which his lawyers are expected to petition soon after today's sentencing.

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But if he is not granted bail soon by a superior court, Mr Prasad will have to look at who can lead the party in his stead, as party cadres get restive and political rivals eye his not unsubstantial vote bank.

His wife Rabri Devi, who has been chief minister of Bihar thrice, has said she and her son will run the party "like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi run the Congress." Lalu's heir apparent, 23-year-old Tejaswi Yadav said on Tuesday, "All of us will together run the party."

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The 17-year-old case relates to the misuse of Rs. 37 crores of public money, part of a larger scam that saw Rs. 950 crores used to pay fictitious bills for medicines and fodder for cattle in Bihar.