Will sullen Sharad Yadav stick to his secular stripes?
New Delhi: Sulking JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav, who has been vocal about his opposition to Bihar chief minister and party chief Nitish Kumar's decision to break the grand alliance in the state, is planning to hold on August 17 a conclave of top Opposition leaders to focus on the shared "syncretic" heritage of all the parties and their secular credentials.
Mr Yadav, who has claimed that he has refused a Cabinet berth at the Centre, plans to invite Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as well as leaders of other "like-minded" parties like the CPI(M), Trinamul Congress, DMK and NCP to the programme, scheduled just two days before the JD(U) national conclave in Delhi on August 19.
Top JD(U) sources told this newspaper that though the planning for the programme was at a nascent stage, Mr Yadav has discussed it with Opposition leaders like Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, whom he met within a day of the Bihar chief minister's decision to join the NDA.
Interestingly, the JD(U), which has nine MPs in the Rajya Sabha, voted along with the Opposition to seek an amendment to the crucial National Commission for Backward Classes Bill in the Upper House on Monday, bringing embarrassment to the ruling BJP.
If Mr Yadav maintains his anti-NDA government stance without quitting his party, then it is likely to be difficult for Mr Kumar to keep his promise of extending the JD(U)'s support to the government in Parliament.
This will also help the Congress-led Opposition, which is reeling under severe setbacks in the Upper House with the CPI(M) rejecting a third term for Mr Yechury and BSP chief Mayawati resigning. Congress leader Ahmed Patel is also likely to face a tough fight in his Rajya Sabha election from Gujarat on August 8.
Earlier, at least three MPs of the JD(U) had expressed their unwillingness to go with the BJP. Mr Yadav had held a meeting with these very MPs a day after Mr Kumar's resignation, sources said.
