Sharad Yadav merges his party with RJD Former Union Minister and socialist leader pitches for unity in the Opposition ranks to take on the BJP

Joining forces: LJD supremo Sharad Yadav with RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav in New Delhi on Sunday. R.V. MOORTHY

Asserting that nationwide Opposition unity is imperative to defeat the BJP, former Union Minister and socialist leader Sharad Yadav on Sunday merged his party, the Loktantrik Janata Dal, with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and pitched for coming together of all forces fighting the ruling party.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav welcomed the veteran leader, who had fought some of the keenest Lok Sabha election battles against his father Lalu Prasad in the 1990s, into his party’s fold, saying that it was a message for the anti-BJP parties to unite to take on the ruling dispensation. Mr. Tejashwi said that the Constitution and democracy were in danger and all parties standing for secularism and social justice must join hands.

In an apparent swipe at the BJP over its leaders’ support to the film The Kashmir Files, he said that people were in distress due to price rise and unemployment, and debate should be over these issues instead of some movie setting agenda.

“Politics of hate is taking place, and the Constitution and democracy are in danger,” Mr. Tejashwi told reporters, thanking Mr. Sharad for showing his faith in him.

The move by Mr. Sharad, 74, who had been keeping low after battling health issues for months, is seen as an effort to rehabilitate his colleagues and other associates as his LJD could never become a serious force after its launch following his separation with JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Mr. Sharad had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election on RJD ticket, while his daughter fought the 2020 Bihar Assembly election as a nominee of the Congress, then an RJD ally.

Unity of Opposition parties was his priority, Mr. Sharad told reporters here, while lauding Mr. Tejashwi for leading the fight against the BJP-led NDA in Bihar. The Opposition parties should join hands nationwide to take on the BJP, he said, adding that no one party can single-handedly defeat it.

He hailed Mr. Tejashwi as Bihar’s future and played down queries about the possible leader of the Opposition parties if they were to unite. Citing past instances, he said parties had first joined forces and a leader was picked later.

A broader unity of opposition parties should be the first step considering the situation in the country, he said.

“This step [merger] has been necessitated as an initiative of his regular efforts for bringing together scattered Janata parivar in view of the current political situation in the country,” he had earlier said in a statement, claiming that the BJP government was a failure and people were looking for a strong Opposition.

Lalu’s rival

The merger marks his coming together with Mr. Prasad after more than three decades, with both leaders seen to be at the tail end of their political career.

Mr. Prasad quit the Janata Dal in 1997 to form his party over differences with its leadership as the probe against fodder scamgathered pace.

Mr. Sharad was then seen as his rival within the Janata Dal, and he later joined hands with Nitish Kumar to end the RJD’s 15-year reign in Bihar in 2005. He was, however, also seen as a key votary for the JD(U)-RJD alliance in the 2015 Assembly election in Bihar. He later parted ways with Mr. Kumar over the latter’s decision to ally with the BJP again.