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LDF ally announces merger with RJD
The move has led the Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD) to expand its base in Kerala, ahead of the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD), a constituent of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala merged with the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD) on Friday in the presence of Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and senior leaders at an event in Kozhikode in Kerala.
The move has led the Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD) to expand its base in Kerala, ahead of the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
According to RJD leaders, former LJD MP and state president M V Shreyams Kumar, LJD’s lone MLA and former minister K P Mohanan , district presidents of the LJD and other leaders were present at the event.
Insiders in the RJD, after inducting the LJD in its fold, have sent across a message of party’s growing base in Kerala and also announced its plans to contest from at least five parliamentary seats in alliance with Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“The merger of LJD with RJD is a big boost as it has now increased the party’s strength in Kerala and also a big move to expand the party’s base nationally ahead of the 2024 parliamentary polls,” said former minister and senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui over a phone call from Kozhikode. Siddiqui along with RJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha has accompanied Tejaswhi to attend the merger event.
The deputy chief minister of Bihar, in a press statement, said the party would now have MLAs in Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala assembly, which is a sign of the party’s growing base across the country.
“The merger and unity like this can help bridge the divides, promote collaboration and prevent internal conflicts that might undermine the overall goals of socialism,” Yadav said.
LJD, before its merger with RJD in March, 2022 nationally, was in talks of merger with Janata Dal (Secular) earlier, people familiar with the matter said.
However, the same did not materialise.
The JD(S) , led by former chief minister of Karnataka HD Kumaraswamy , joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September this year, the people added.
