NEW DELHI: Sharad Yadav today broke his silence on party colleague Nitish Kumar's stunning political change-up and made it clear that he disapproves. "Whatever happened is very unfortunate, the mandate by the people was not for this," the veteran Janata Dal (United) leader told reporters outside parliament.
Nitish Kumar last week ended his two-year mahagatbandhan or grand alliance with Lalu Yadav and the Congress and revived his partnership with the BJP after an acrimonious parting four years ago.
The Chief Minister, after resigning on Wednesday, said he felt "suffocated" and referred to Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi's refusal to resign as his deputy despite corruption charges.Some Janata Dal (United) leaders went public with their criticism of the swap but Sharad Yadav had till now communicated only through his silence and occasional tweets critical of the BJP-led central government.
The 70-year-old was replaced as party president by Nitish Kumar a year ago, a move designed to give the Chief Minister a free hand in decisions ahead of the 2019 national election. As Nitish Kumar's stand-in in Delhi, Sharad Yadav recently attended opposition meetings to decide on candidates for president and vice president.
After Nitish Kumar broke with the opposition and backed government candidate Ram Nath Kovind for president, there were questions within the ranks of the opposition on whether Sharad Yadav really represented his party.Reports suggested Sharad Yadav kept in touch with opposition leaders and shared his disapproval of Nitish Kumar reuniting with the BJP/
Lalu Yadav claimed Sharad Yadav had called him and sided with him. "He has been in touch and he told us he is with us," Lalu Yadav told NDTV.Critics have suggested that Sharad Yadav, a former union minister, is angling for a cabinet berth in the Modi government and his silence on Nitish Kumar is a bargaining tactic.
On Saturday, Lalu Yadav asked Sharad Yadav to lead an anti-BJP front and then repeated the offer for the cameras. "I appeal to Sharad Yadav-ji who has been our leader... whom we consider our leader, to come forward and fight the BJP. Take the lead role in this," he said.
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