Patna: Two towering political figures in socialist politics: Sharad Yadav of Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) and Lalu Prasad Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have decided to bury the hatchet, merging their parties on Sunday, to become a force again.
The merger will take place at Sharad Yadav's residence in Delhi with the presence of Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Bihar's leader of Opposition and leader of RJD, Indian Express reported.
The merger of both parties once again point at the fact that there is no perennial friend or foe in politics. Sharad Yadav reportedly announced his decision to close ranks with Lalu's party in what he said his efforts to bring together splinter groups of the erstwhile Janata Dal.
Sharad Yadav on Wednesday tweeted that having a strong Opposition in the country was the need of the hour. Tegeshwi, who took over RJD following his father's time in jail in fodder scam case, hailed Sharad Yadav as a "father-figure and socialist icon", whose importance, he said, everybody knows.
RJD national spokesperson Subodh Mehta said that the merger of LJD with RID was not just symbolic and hoped that it would be the right step towards the unity of Opposition.
The merger has been long time coming with LJD finding itself on a diminishing mass base. The party's founder Sharad Yadav's clout has shrunken to Madhepura, a constituency that he represented several times in the Lok Sabha.
The report in Indian Express called the LJD-RJD merger a prelude to RJD nominating Sharad Yadav to Rajya Sabha in June.
The two leaders were in good terms during their Janata Dal times, with Sharad Yadav backing Lalu Prasad to become CM of Bihar following the 1990 Bihar elections. Later the friends parted their ways in 1997 with Lalu forming RJD and Sharad Yadav floating JD(U).
Two old friends-turned rivals are coming together in their efforts to become a force again in the twilight of their political life.