Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Tuesday said he was keen to return to active politics and contest parliamentary polls after overcoming legal hurdles and dismissed as “misleading” the speculation about elevating his younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav as the party chief .

“I am keen to return to active politics. I will contest Lok Sabha polls and return to Parliament once legal hurdles are removed,” Prasad, who landed in Patna Tuesday evening to attend his party’s national executive meeting on February 10, told reporters in New Delhi earlier in the day.

Following his conviction in four fodder scam cases, the former CM has been debarred from contesting polls under the provisions of Representation of People Act, 1951. The verdict in a fifth fodder scam case, which is about alleged fraudulent withdrawal of ₹139 crore from Doranda treasury in Jharkhand, is scheduled to come on February 15 in a Ranchi court.

The RJD chief had last contested 2009 parliamentary polls and won Saran seat. He was disqualified from his Lok Sabha membership in 2013 following his conviction in a fodder scam case.

In December 2017, Prasad was lodged in a Ranchi jail and later brought to All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi for treatment. In April last year, he was released on bail.

The RJD chief dismissed reports that Tejaswhi Yadav could be elevated to the party president post at the upcoming national executive meet. “Such reports are all baseless and misleading. The national executive has been called as it is mandatory as per party’s constitution,” he said.

Tejaswhi Yadav, a former deputy CM, is currently the leader of opposition in Bihar.

RJD’s national executive meeting would be attended by 250 party representatives from different states and also 76 members of the national executive. The party is expected to launch an intensive membership drive to increase party’s active members to 1 crore and also pass resolutions on social, economic and political situation in the country.