All speculation aside, on Sunday Loktantrik Janata Dal, led by Sharad Yadav, ruled out the possibility of the party joining JD (U).
National party officials met in New Delhi on Sunday and called rumors that the party was switching sides as “totally false and baseless.”
Yadav, who is hospitalized, did not attend the meeting.
“LJD wishes to clarify that Sharad Yadav has always been part of the JD (U) that played a key role in bringing Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) to power in the 2015 Bihar assembly elections and continues to work with the people of Bihar to bring GA to power again in the next assembly elections. LJD expresses its solidarity with the GA, ”said a statement issued by the party’s general secretary, Sushila Morale.
What sparked speculation of his possible return to the JD (U) camp was a courtesy call from Bihar Prime Minister Nitish Kumar to the family of former JD (U) President Sharad Yadav to inquire about his health. . During the course of his illness, several JD (U) leaders also contacted him and asked about his health. According to sources from Yadav’s party, the LJD leader, like other Grand Alliance partners, felt neglected in the alliance. Recently, HAM-S, one of GA’s partners, left the alliance.
Yadav formed LJD after being expelled from JD (U) for his anti-party activities in August 2017. He contested in Madhepura’s 2019 Lok Sabha election as a Grand Alliance candidate and lost the election.
The JD (U) had removed Yadav as party leader in Rajya Sabha in 2017 after he publicly disapproved of Nitish Kumar’s decision to rejoin the NDA in Bihar. He was later disqualified from the upper house by petition filed by the JD (U). Yadav, whose term of Rajya Sabha ends in 2022, challenged the decision in court. The matter remains on hold.
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