Patna: JD(U) President Sharad Yadav today hinted that his party and RJD may merge before the grand merger of five splinter groups of the old Janata Parivar in view of Bihar Assembly polls to be held later this year. “There is a strong view that the merger of JD(U) and RJD be first done in Bihar in view of the Assembly polls later this year...,” Yadav said.
“After achieving success in Bihar, the merger process would be taken up elsewhere in the country,” the JD(U) chief told reporters at the Jaiprakash Narayan Airport here. On the merger of all five parties into one Janata Parivar, Yadav said he would not be able to speak in definite terms when it would be achieved.
The JD(U) chief is in the city to take part in a feast tomorrow on the occasion of festival of Makar Sankranti organised by his party's state unit. RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and leaders from Congress and Left parties are also expected the event.
Meanwhile, Lalu Prasad, who also arrived here today to host a separate feast on Makar Sankranti at Rabri Devi's house, differed with Yadav.
“It will not be a merger of only two parties, rather all socialist parties will amalgamate,” he told reporters. Prasad said Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had been authorised to oversee modalities of the merger and he would decide on a timeline.
The RJD president said there was no “ego problem” among leaders in the way of the unification. “Who will become what is not the issue. Our concern is how to stop a communal party like BJP,” he said. Prasad said the vote percentage of RJD and JD(U) in the last general election in Bihar added up to 45 per cent, which was much more than what was achieved by BJP and its partners who bagged about 39 per cent votes.
Lalu said that after the socialist forces are united, Ramvilas Paswan Paswan and BJP would not be able to repeat their poll results in Bihar.
