Lalu's brother-in-law, Sadhu Yadav, needs a party. Any takers?

Patna: Sadhu Yadav, the estranged brother-in-law of Bihar powerhouse Lalu Yadav, needs a party.

He was expelled by the Congress today for his lavish praise of BJP leader Narendra Modi. But the BJP in Bihar has already made it clear that it will not welcome him.

So Sadhu Yadav, 47, is in need of a party.

Last week, Sadhu, whose real name is Anirudh Prasad, met Mr Modi in Ahmedabad for what he described as "a courtesy visit". It must have gone well because Sadhu later said that Mr Modi is far more suitable for Prime Minister than Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

That ended his four-year stint with the Congress. Sadhu quit his brother-in-law's Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD in 2009 and ran unsuccessfully for Parliament on a Congress ticket in 2009.

The Congress wasn't the only party displeased with his fraternizing with Mr Modi, the campaign-in-chief of his party and front-runner for its prime ministerial nomination. The BJP in Bihar reprimanded Mr Modi, stating that it must be consulted before he meets any non-BJP leaders from Bihar.

The BJP and Lalu have been bitter rivals in Bihar since 1990 when an experiment at a coalition government ended quickly and badly.