There has been a ruckus over the merger of Sharad Yadav’s party Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Many LJD leaders have questioned the decision of merger. He alleged that this was done without discussion in the party forum and without following the rules of LJD. Leaders of the LJD Kerala unit, the only functional wing of the party, stayed away from the merger held on Sunday. There is speculation that Sharad Yadav is eyeing the Rajya Sabha seat after the merger.
According to Economic Times, LJD Kerala unit president MV Shreyams Kumar said, “The so-called merger of LJD with RJD was announced by Sharad Yadav without our knowledge. There was no discussion in the party on this matter. As per the constitution of LJD, any decision on merger of our party with any other party can be taken only after approval of the resolution from the National Executive and 75% of the members. No meeting of the National Executive was called in this matter. ,
Questioning the merger, Shreyams Kumar said that now a meeting of the party’s national executive will be demanded. He also said that the LJD will continue to be a constituent of the LDF in Kerala. LJD national general secretary Varghese George said that many party functionaries, including him and his colleagues from Kerala, did not attend the program for the merger. The reason for this is that the National Executive of LJD neither discussed nor approved any merger.
Varghese George also said that as per the LJD’s constitution any merger proposal should not only be taken up with the national executive but also sent to the party units for their consideration. Apart from this, he said that the party’s Kerala unit is already a part of LDF. It was therefore important to discuss the proposal of merger with both the state party unit and the LDF.
Sharad Yadav claimed that the purpose of the LJD-RJD merger is to unite the opposition parties against the BJP. After leaving the JD(U) and launching the LJD, he continued to hold an ‘advisory post’ to evade the anti-defection law and save his Rajya Sabha membership. He challenged his disqualification from the Rajya Sabha in the court. He contested the last Lok Sabha elections on the RJD’s symbol while in LJD and lost. His daughter had contested the Bihar assembly elections on a Congress ticket. She was also present during the merger.