Rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav’s supporters on Wednesday announced to formally launch the loktantrik Janata Dal (lJD) on Friday in Delhi. Former Rajasthan Minister Fateh Singh is likely to be named as the first president of the party and the ideology based on issues concerning farmers, workers, weaker and marginalised sections, the youth and women.
The party is being formed with Sharad as its “mentor”, a leader of the rebel group Arun Srivastava said indicating that around 8,000 members of the lJD are expected to converge on the day, “Yadav ji will be present on the occasion besides other senior leaders like (currently independent) MP Veerendra Kumar. The party aims to introduce a new kind of politics,” he said.
The lJD intends to introduce electoral reforms “to rid politics of the influence of money, muscle and mafia”. The party will follow the path shown by iconic leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar lohia, BR Ambedkar, Jai Prakash Narayan and others, he said.
Srivastava said the lJD is being floated as the matter relating to “which is the original JD(U)” is pending before court. After the Nitish Kumar-headed JD(U) decided to switch to the NDA fold last year, a faction of the party had opposed. The faction had approached the Election Commission, contending “it was the real JD(U) and not the one led by Kumar”.
“We are politicians and needed a party to contest elections. Since the matter is pending before the court, we decided to float the party. We will make efforts to bring all the anti-BJP parties together ahead of the 2019 lok Sabha polls to oust the party which is posing threat to democracy,” Srivastava said.
He said Yadav has already been making efforts to bring non-BJP parties on a common platform through his ‘Preserve Composite Culture’ campaign. Srivastava added the decision whether Yadav and other senior leaders with join the lJD or not will be taken based on the court case verdict.