Bihar: Sharad Yadav says his party to merge with Lalu Prasad’s RJD on March 20

New Delhi: Sharad Yadav on Wednesday (March 16) announced the merger of his party Loktantrik Janata Dal with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal on March 20. 

Claiming that the BJP government has been a failure and people are seeking a strong opposition, 74-year-old Sharad Yadav said in a statement, "This step (merger) has been necessitated as an initiative of my regular efforts for bringing together scattered Janata parivar in view of the current political situation in the country.” 

This merger marks Yadav joining hands with Lalu Prasad after over three decades. 

The former Bihar CM underlined that the Janata Dal solely had 143 seats in Lok Sabha in 1989, adding that the agenda for social justice has “lost its pace with the disintegration of the party over the years, and this needs to be revived”, PTI reported. 

“The need of the hour is that all like-minded parties should come together to build up strong opposition,” Yadav added. 

Notably, Sharad Yadav's daughter had unsuccessfully contested the 2020 Bihar assembly polls on an RJD ticket. 

In 1997, RJD chief Lalu Prasad had left Janata Dal to float his own party following his differences with its leadership as the probe against fodder scam, in which he was a main accused, intensified. Sharad Yadav was seen as Lalu Yadav's rival within the Janata Dal. Sharad Yadav had later allied with Nitish Kumar Kumar to end RJD's 15-year rule in Bihar in 2005.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered former Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav to vacate within 15 days the government bungalow occupied by him in the national capital, arguing that since he was disqualified as Rajya Sabha MP in 2017, there can be no justification to retain the accommodation.

(With agency inputs)

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