Sharad Yadav termed the merger of the LJD with RJD as the first step towards opposition unity.
Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have merged. The merger was announced by Sharad Yadav at his residence in Delhi today.
Lalu and Sharad Yadav had parted ways 25 years back and now have made a common cause to fight the indomitable BJP.
Sharad Yadav termed the merger of the LJD with RJD as the first step towards opposition unity.
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“Merger of our party with the RJD is the first step towards forging the Opposition unity. It’s imperative that the whole Opposition gets united across India to defeat the BJP. As of now, unification is our priority. It’ll be only after that we would think about who will lead the united Opposition,” he said.
On the merger of the two parties, Lalu’s son and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said the decision taken by Sharad Yadav was on the people’s demand.
“It has given a message to other opposition parties as well. It is high time, we should have united in 2019 but better late than never,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
After the merger of both parties, the RJD is likely to nominate Sharad Yadav to the Rajya Sabha during biennial polls for the Upper House slated for June.
Sharad Yadav had formed the LJD in 2018 after parting his ways from Janata Dal (United) over the party’s alliance with the BJP.
The LJD never fought elections since its inception while its chief Sharad Yadav lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Madhepura in Bihar on the RJD ticket. Sharad Yadav was the Cabinet Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government at the Centre.
The two leaders, incidentally, have come together after a gap of 25 years. They had parted ways in 1997 when Lalu Prasad Yadav had founded the RJD and Sharad Yadav along with Nitish Kumar launched the JD(U).
He rode the “Mandal” politics bandwagon in the 1990s to dominate Bihar politics, besides playing a key role in national politics. Lalu Prasad Yadav was later convicted in the fodder scam.
(With inputs from ANI)
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