This period saw the rise of a strong leader in Lalu Prasad Yadav. Yadav was a strong critic of upper caste hegemony and was a proponent of the cause of lower castes and Dalits. He took several steps like strict enforcement of the quota system in government jobs and education for the social and economic development of the lower castes. Moreover, Yadav recruited the lower castes into administration and upper castes were sidelined which made them play the secondary role in the politics and administration of Bihar as they were moved to the subordinate position vis a vis the OBCs. The upper caste now turned to violence which was welcomed by the retaliatory action of the backwards. A series of caste-based and politically motivated murders took place during this period.