Former Rajya Sabha MP KC Tyagi joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal on Sunday, five days after quitting the Janata Dal (United).

Tyagi joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal, a member of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, in the presence of the party’s chief Union minister Jayant Singh.

Tyagi said that he had started his political career with the Rashtriya Lok Dal when the party was founded by Chaudhary Charan Singh in 1974, The Indian Express reported.

“I don’t see any difference between Lok Dal, RLD and JDU,” he was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “All these parties follow the same ideology. These parties of Charan Singh, (Ram Manohar) Lohia and Karpoori Thakur are for social justice and the peasants.”

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Tyagi told the newspaper that he will “work for the success of the NDA” and that a strong Rashtriya Lok Dal in western Uttar Pradesh “will give more strength” to the alliance.

Tyagi had quit the JD(U) on March 17, a day after party chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Kumar, who became chief minister for the 10th time in November, is expected to step down after his election to the Upper House.

In a statement, Tyagi had said that his membership of the JD(U) had ended and that he would not renew it. The JD(U) is also part of the NDA.

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“My commitment to the broader ideological points concerning the interests of the downtrodden, peasants and agriculturalists, including the deprived sections of society, remains as firm as ever,” he had said.

The former MP had told The Indian Express at the time that while he has immense respect for Kumar, he was “searching for new political ground in Uttar Pradesh under the banner of another political party”.

Tyagi had previously served as the chief national spokesperson and national secretary general of the JD(U). He had been serving as a political adviser to the party after he was removed as its national spokesperson in September 2024.

The JD(U) had distanced itself from several statements made by the former MP, including on the Uniform Civil Code and Israel’s war on Gaza. The party had also recently taken serious exception to his demand for a Bharat Ratna for Kumar, The Indian Express reported.