Senior JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav, at odds with party president Nitish Kumar since the latter jettisoned the 20 month old grand alliance to form a new government with the BJP, late last month, hit back at Kumar, on Saturday. “This party is not Kumar’s alone but also belongs to me”, said a seemingly defiant Yadav, a founder-leader of the party, who had merged his original Janata Dal with Kumar’s Samata Party, in 2003, to form the JD (U). Indicating that he was not ready to toe the Nitish Kumar line, despite being outnumbered in the JD (U) by Kumar’s supporters, Yadav said, “there are two JD (U)s in the state, one is sarkari (official) and another is janata’s (of the people)”. “It is Kumar who changed the mandate given by 11 crore people in favour of Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance). I am still with the public mandate and had sent Anwar to attend Sonia Gandhi’s meeting so that a Bihar like alliance could be replicated in the country to defeat the BJP,” he said.

Source: Hindustan Times August 12, 2017 14:48 UTC