Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav believes that the era of anti-Congressism is over. In an interview to Manish Anand, Mr Yadav said he’d like to see the Rashtriya Janata Dal and JD(U) merge to create a unified political entity. He is also of the view that the Rajya Sabha will be the place where the government will face strong opposition, as the late Rajiv Gandhi had seen despite commanding absolute majority in the Lok Sabha.
What lessons have you drawn from the Bihar Assembly byelections?
We are faced with a political situation wherein the party, with the support of about 30 per cent voters, has come in power with big numbers. But 70 per cent of the voters are out of the system. The Janta Dal was vertically split in Bihar out of which the RJD and JD(U) emerged. Consequently, the masses too were divided and that was reflected in the outcome of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. We have understood the mistake and so forged an alliance and the people reposed their faith in us. Bihar has sent the political message for all across the country.
Is the merger of the JD(U) and RJD in Bihar on the cards?
I cannot say what will happen in the future. But I desire that if the two parties become one there will be greater trust of people in us. We contested the elections jointly and won six out of 10 Assembly seats. We divided the masses through division in our Janta parivar (family).
Who will be the chief ministerial candidate during the Bihar Assembly elections next year?
We will contest the Bihar state elections in alliance with the RJD and the Congress. Leadership will not be an issue. Even earlier we had no problem in deciding on the leadership issue while forming the government in the state. We will address the issue when the time comes.
How feasible is it to replicate the Bihar experiment elsewhere?
Bihar has been my karmabhoomi. It was easier for us to forge the alliance in Bihar. In 1993, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party had contested state elections jointly and had swept the polls. Now the BSP has no member in the Lok Sabha and SP’s presence too is insignificant. If they assess the challenges in front of them they’ll realise that they should take steps to unite. The era of non-Congressism is over. All parties must unite against the new challenge, which threatens the sanctity of the Constitution. These parties will have to forget the past and unite for the larger cause.
There has been some talk that you are seeking to revive the Mandal brand of politics to check the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Those who brand us as practitioners of Mandal brand of politics do so to show us in poor light. They abuse us by calling us the champions of Mandal brand of politics. During the 10 years of the United Progressive Alliance rule, we were at the forefront of all kinds of issues, including numerous scams like the 2G spectrum allocation, irregularities in allocation of coal blocks, corruption in organising the Commonwealth Games. We do not just espouse the demand of social justice. It was Chaudhary Charan Singh who unveiled land reforms in Uttar Pradesh. The Left later replicated it in West Bengal, while late Karpoori Thakur did it in Bihar.
What happened to the 17 parties which had come together on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections? Will the idea of the Federal Front revive in the coming time?
No arrangement for electoral tie-up on the ground could be worked out even though 17 parties had come together on the eve of the elections. It was a new beginning. We may need to make fresh efforts to unite various factions of the Janta parivar.
The Opposition seems in quite a disarray in the Lok Sabha, as was evident in the just-concluded Budget Session. The Congress also seems isolated in the Lok Sabha. Do you think the government will enjoy a weak Opposition in Parliament?
After the Lok Sabha elections, prominent parties like the BSP and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have no representation in the Lower House. Even after the massive mandate of 1984 won by Rajiv Gandhi, there was no real Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee had lost election from Gwalior and even I had lost from Budaun. We all went to the Rajya Sabha. It was the Rajya Sabha which then emerged as the platform for an effective Opposition against the government commanding massive majority in the Lok Sabha. We are in a similar situation now. Hence, the Rajya Sabha will be the place where the National Democratic Alliance government will face strong Opposition. Rajiv Gandhi was not able to complete his term despite commanding absolute majority.
The NDA government has completed 100 days in office. How do you view this government’s performance?
We have a foggy picture as of now of this government. The UPA coalition government banked on foreign investment, which this government is also following. It has allowed foreign direct investment in insurance, railways and defence so far. There are indications that this government is least bothered about the environment and even Tiger reserves are facing the threat now.
People in the country don’t only dream. They will get restless for change in the government if their aspirations are not fulfilled.
What do you have to say about the NDA government’s approach to Jammu and Kashmir?
There is no other way than taking the people of Kashmir Valley in confidence in our bid to solve the issue. We should be sensitive to the concerns and grievances of the people in the Valley.
