First Step Towards Opposition Unity: Sharad Yadav Merges LJD With RJD

“It’s imperative that whole opposition gets united across India to defeat BJP,” the former union minister said.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Yadav. (File Photo/ Getty)

New Delhi: Former Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Yadav merged his Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) with former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) at his residence in the national capital on Sunday.

Talking to the media after the merger, he said it is a first step towards “opposition unity”, ANI reported.

“It’s imperative that whole opposition gets united across India to defeat BJP,” the former union minister said.

“As of now, unification is our priority, it will be only after that we would think about who will lead the united opposition,” he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sharad Yadav announced that his party will merge with the RJD as part of his efforts to unite various offshoots of the erstwhile Janata Dal.

“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,” he said in a statement, PTI reported.

Asserting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has been a failure, Sharad Yadav said the people across the nation are now looking for a strong opposition.

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

Sharad Yadav further said the Janata Dal alone had 143 seats in Lok Sabha in 1989, adding the agenda for social justice has lost its pace with the disintegration of the party over the years and this needs to be revived.

Sharad, who formed the LJD in May 2018 after separating with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), had parted ways with Lalu earlier in 1997.

This development took place after Lalu decided to quit Janata Dal over his differences with its leadership as the investigation against fodder scam, in which he was a main accused, picked up momentum.

Sharad, who was then seen as a rival within the Janata Dal, joined hands with Nitish Kumar later in 2005 to end the RJD’s 15-year rule in Bihar.