Sharad Yadav merges his party with RJD

New Delhi: Asserting that nationwide opposition unity is imperative to defeat the BJP, former Union Minister and socialist leader Sharad Yadav on Sunday merged his party Loktantrik Janata Dal with 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 poll battles against his father Lalu Prasad Yadav in the 1990s, into his party's fold, saying it is a message for the anti-BJP parties to unite to take on the ruling dispensation.

The young RJD leader alleged that the Constitution and democracy are 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 Hindi film "The Kashmir Files", he said people are in distress due to price rise and unemployment, and debate should be over these issues instead of some movie setting agenda.

The movie, which seeks to highlight the violent trauma Kashmiri Pandits underwent leading to their exodus from the Valley over three decades back, has been accused by critics, including leaders of opposition parties, of fomenting "hate and division" with its alleged negative portrayal of Kashmiri Muslims. "Politics of hate is taking place, and the Constitution and democracy are in danger," Tejashwi Yadav told reporters, thanking Sharad Yadav for showing his faith in him.

The move by Sharad Yadav (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.

He had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election on the RJD ticket while his daughter had fought the 2020 Bihar assembly poll as a nominee of the Congress, then an RJD ally.

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