Veteran socialist leader and former Union Minister Sharad Yadav passed away on Thursday night in Delhi after a prolonged illness. He was admitted at a private hospital in Gurugram. He was 73.
His daughter Subhasnai Sharad Yadav broke the news through a Facebook post, “Papa nahi rahe.”
A statement from the Fortis Memorial Research Institute said Sharad was brought to the emergency ward in an unconscious and unresponsive state.
“On examination, he did not have any pulse or recordable blood pressure. He underwent CPR as per ACLS protocols. Despite best efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 10.19 pm,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over Sharad’s demise. “Pained by the passing away of Shri Sharad Yadav ji. In his long years in public life, he distinguished himself as an MP and a Minister. He was greatly inspired by Dr Lohia’s ideals. I will always cherish our interactions. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti,” he tweeted.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav also expressed grief on Sharad’s demise. “The news of the untimely demise of Mandal Messiah saddens me... Great socialist leader and my guardian respected Sharad Yadav ji. I am speechless,” he tweeted in Hindi.
The RJD leader said he had a conversation with his family members. “In this hour of grief, the entire Samajwadi fraternity is with his family members,” he said.
A strong votary of Opposition unity, Yadav was once the supreme leader of the Janata Parivar. He led the Janata Dal(U) as its president, and then parted ways with Lalu Prasad. Later, he joined hands with Nitish Kumar and was the national president of the party. In 2017, he was disqualified from the Rajya Sabha after Nitish petitioned against him for indulging in “anti-party activities”.
Sharad was known to take a strong stand on issues close to his heart. But he also remained flexible in his political management. This is why he fell out with both Nitish and Lalu several times., and again joined hands with them, too.
A powerful voice in Mandal politics, Sharad commanded significant respect in the political circle of Delhi. This is the reason, both Lalu and Nitish relied on him to lead their parties as national presidents for a long period of time.
Sharad formed his own party Loktantrik Janata Dal in 2018. After not achieving much with the new outfit, he merged it with Lalu’s RJD in March 2020. Despite his poor health, he frequently appeared with Opposition leaders and called for a united platform to take on the BJP.
Sharad was born on July 1, 1947, in Babai village in the Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Robertson College Jabalpur. However, Bihar remained his political “karmbhoomi,” due to his active involvement in the JP movement. His daughter Subhashini joined the Congress and unsuccessfully contested the 2020 Bihar Assembly election in 2020.
Sharad was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh in 1974 in a by-poll. He is supposed to be the personal choice of Jai Prakash Narayan .In 1977, he was re-elected from the same constituency. When Janata Party split in 1979, he sided with Charan Singh faction. When Rajiv Gandhi first entered Lok Sabha by winning a by-poll from Amethi in 1981, Sharad Yadav was the losing candidate on the Lok Dal ticket.[9] He lost from Badaun in UP in 1984 on the Lok Dal ticket under Charan Singh’s leadership. He was elected from Badaun (Lok Sabha constituency) in 1989 as a Janata Dal member.
After that he shifted to Bihar and settled down in the Yadav-dominated Madhepura . He won the Madhepura seat four times in 1991, 1996, 1999, and 2009 and also an equal number of times