After 25 years, Lalu Yadav's RJD merges with Sharad Yadav's party

In a move announced on Sunday, former Union Minister Sharad Yadav merged his Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is led by Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Sharad Yadav noted that the merger is a "first step toward a united opposition".

"Merger of our party with the RJD is the first step towards forging the Opposition unity. It's imperative that the whole Opposition gets united across India to defeat the BJP. As of now, unification is our priority. It'll be only after that we would think about who will lead the united Opposition," he said.

Having split from the Janata Dal (United) over the party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Yadav formed the LJD in 2018.

Since its founding, the LJD has never contested elections, while its chief Sharad Yadav lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Madhepura on a RJD ticket

At the time of the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sherad Yadav was the cabinet minister.

Interestingly, the two leaders have reunited after a gap of 25 years. In 1997, Lalu Prasad Yadav launched the RJD, while Sharad Yadav along with Nitish Kumar launched the JD(U).

A fodder scam later lead to the conviction of Lalu Prasad Yadav. "Mandal" politics helped him to dominate Bihar politics in the 1990s, and he also played a key role in national politics.

As a result of the LJD-RJD merger, the RJD is likely to nominate Sharad Yadav to the Rajya Sabha during the upcoming elections for the Upper House in June.