Former Union Minister Sharad Yadav | Photo credit: Ravi Chowdhary
Socialist leader and former Union minister Sharad Yadav passed away on Thursday evening when he was taken to a hospital in Gurugram after he complained of uneasiness. He had been ailing for some time but was at home for the last few months. His daughter, Congress leader Subhashini Sharad Yadav confirmed his death on her Twitter account, tweeting, “Papa nahi rahe (Papa is no more).
Shri Yadav, 74, was born in Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh in July, 1947 and contested Lok Sabha elections and was elected from three states – Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur), Bihar (Madhepura) and Uttar Pradesh (Badaun) during his long political career. I won Career, a career that saw him plunge into the anti-Emergency movement under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan, and all the while holding fast to his socialist roots.
His election in 1974 in a by-election from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh is considered a milestone in the then ongoing anti-Emergency struggle, and his extreme youth (he was a student leader) was a marker of things to come.
Although he worked during the Emergency from the Lok Dal in 1988 to the late Prime Minister V.P. The parties would have changed by the time Singh formed the Janata Dal and later the Janata Dal (U) in the late 1990s (when he formed the Janata Dal (U)). Another former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda) and in its 2003 avatar with the late George Fernandes and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, he stuck to socialism and its credentials. While he had issues regarding the reservation of Lok Sabha seats for women, he stated that he was in favor of quotas for backward classes within the larger reservation for women.
He had a long career in both Houses of Parliament, being re-elected to the Lok Sabha several times – in 1977, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1999 and 2009, he was also a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1986 and 2004.
He first entered the Union Council of Ministers when V.P. Singh became prime minister of the short-lived National Front government (1989–90), as minister for textiles and food processing. After a split in the Janata Dal, he formed the Janata Dal (U) in the late 1990s and became part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and was also the convenor of the alliance for a time. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister, Mr. Yadav held various assignments as the Minister of Civil Aviation, Labour, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution between the period 1999-2004.
He lost his Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 parliamentary elections and was replaced as JD(U) president two years later. The move triggered a power struggle within the party and in 2018, Yadav and his supporters formed the Loktantrik Janata Dal. All this was resolved a few years later when he merged his new party with the Rashtriya Janata Dal led by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Condolences were drawn by senior political leaders, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi noting Mr Yadav’s long career in public life and his socialist ideals inspired by the late socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that Mr. Yadav’s commitment to the politics of social justice will always be remembered.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his condolence message on Twitter, ‘Saddened by the demise of Shri Sharad Yadav. In his long public career, he distinguished himself as a parliamentarian and minister. He was greatly influenced by the ideals of Dr. Lohia. I will always cherish our conversation. Condolences to his family and fans. peace.”
Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda in his condolence message on Twitter said: “I am deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of my longtime friend and Janata Parivar colleague Shri #SharadYadav. I met him a few months back to inquire about his health. May his soul rest in peace. peace.”