Former Union minister Sharad Yadav on Sunday announced the merger of his Loktantrik Janata Dal party with the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal in New Delhi, ANI reported.
The two leaders had parted ways in 1997 and have been defeating each other in elections, according to The Indian Express.
Sharad Yadav said that the merger of the two parties was the first step towards uniting the Opposition against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“It’s imperative that whole opposition gets united across India to defeat BJP,” Sharad Yadav told reporters. “As of now, unification is our priority, it’ll be only after that we would think about who will lead the united opposition.”
He stated that there was a need for young people in politics today and referred to Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son, Tejashwi Yadav, as the future.
“RJD is your party, you have to strengthen it,” he said, according to The Indian Express. “Strengthen his [Tejashwi’s] hands. I cannot be active like before. But I will do my best to strengthen him. We will talk to Akhilesh [Yadav] to strengthen our fight.”
In the 1990s, both Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav were part of the Janata Dal, which subsequently was divided into units, according to the Hindustan Times.
In 1997, Lalu Prasad Yadav quit the Janata Dal over differences with its leadership on the investigation related to the fodder scam, in which he was the main accused. He later announced the formation of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Sharad Yadav, who was then seen as Lalu Yadav’s rival, subsequently joined the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) party. In 2018, he formed the Loktantrik Janata Dal party, which is yet to contest any election.
On Sunday’s announcement, Tejashwi Yadav said that the merger of the two parties is a message for anti-BJP parties to unite and take on the ruling dispensation.
“We should have united in 2019 but better late than never,” he said, according to ANI.
Last week, Tejashwi Yadav had described Sharad Yadav as a “father-figure” and a socialist icon. “Everyone knows the importance of veteran socialist Sharad Yadav in Indian politics,” he added.
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