Former party president Sharad Yadav skips national executive meet to attend a parallel 'convention'
The Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal(United) did a 'ghar wapasi' to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Saturday, nearly four years after it dumped the saffron party over Narendra Modi's selection as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
In the presence of chiefs of 16 state units, 71 MLAs, 30 MLCs, and 16 of the 19 office-bearers, the party approved the Bihar unit's decision to quit Mahagathbandhan and passed a resolution, accepting BJP President Amit Shah's invitation to join the NDA, clearing decks for elevation of senior party leaders as Union Cabinet ministers in the coming days.
"During his last visit to Delhi, our President, Nitish Kumar, had received an invitation from Shah to join the NDA. We have passed the resolution at our national executive council meet, and are now a part of the NDA," party general secretary and spokesperson KC Tyagi said while addressing the media at the state JD(U) headquarters in Patna on Saturday. Welcoming JD(U)'s decision, Shah said, "I welcome JD(U)'s decision of joining the NDA, as this will not only strengthen the NDA but will also begin a new era of development and growth in Bihar."
Concluding the national executive meet, Nitish attacked RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav and rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, without naming the latter. "I do not understand why people run after amassing wealth. There are no pockets in the shroud," he said, targetting Lalu over the Rs 1,000-crore benami property allegations against his family, which eventually led to the disintegration of the Mahagathbandhan and an overnight government change in Bihar.
The state unit of Congress and Lalu's RJD have extended their support to 'Sharad's JD(U)'. Challenging Sharad, Nitish said, "He is free to take his own decisions, but no one else is leaving JD(U)." He also reiterated that he didn't need to prove his secular credentials to anyone.
Former JD(U) President and Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Yadav, along with his loyalists MP Ali Anwar and senior leaders Ramai Ram and Arun Shrivastav, skipped the national executive meet and instead attended a parallel 'convention' at Patna's SK Memorial Hall.
Contrary to the expectations, neither was Sharad removed from the party nor did he quit on his own or stake claim to the 'real JD(U)'. Sharad, who was sacked as JD(U)'s legislature party leader in Rajya Sabha, said he was not interested in any post.
"I was hurt by the disintegration of the Grand Alliance in Bihar as it would have been the base for a national-level alliance of the Opposition parties, for which I was working for over the last three years," he said.
Interestingly, the two JD(U) factions took their warring to the streets, indulging in a bitter poster war. While posters carrying photographs of Sharad and Ali Anwar stated, "Jan adaalat ka Faisla ... Mahagathbandhan jaari hai", the rival group declared Nitish as their leader.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, some anti-social elements clashed with JD(U) workers and media personnel outside 1, Anne Marg, where Nitish's meet was underway. While the JD(U) claimed that the attackers were RJD workers and Sharad supporters, the police said it is is yet to be ascertained.
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