Veteran leader Sharad Yadav will stage a show of strength on Thursday, collecting leaders from a range of parties including the Congress and the Left in the run-up to the Janata Dal (United) joining the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, and pushing for the much-awaited special package for Bihar from the Modi government.

While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s loyalists in Delhi — the most vocal being Rajya Sabha MP KC Tyagi — have begun to talk about the fruits of the just-forged alliance with the BJP, Sharad is readying to spoil the party.

At a press conference at his Tughlaq Road residence here this afternoon, a number of leaders expelled by Nitish from the JD(U) were in attendance. Among them was former JD(U) Madhya Pradesh unit president Gopal Yadav, who had challenged Nitish’s anointment as party president last year.

“Five State units of the JD(U) had challenged Nitish Kumar’s appointment as party president. Out objections still hold ground. Sharadji has a lot of support in the JD(U),” Gopal said.

Sharad has been suspended for his opposition to Nitish joining the BJP alliance. He was the leader of the JD(U) in the Rajya Sabha and that position has now been allocated to another MP, RCP Singh. Another suspended leader, Rajya Sabha MP Ali Anwar, was present with Sharad. He also has the continuing support of 21 suspended leaders including former minister Ramai Ram, ex-MP from Sheohar Arjun Rai, former MLA Raj Kishore Sinha and ex-MLC Vijay Varma.

To underline his national stature in the stand-off with Nitish, Sharad on Wednesday talked at length about discussions with leaders of the Congress, Left, SP, BSP, TMC and other parties on saving the “composite culture” of the country.

Asked who would attend the meeting, he said: “There would be hardly anybody from the Opposition who will not come.”

Asserting that a “composite culture” is the soul of the Constitution, which Sharad alleged is being “tinkered with”, he said similar meetings will be held across the country. “The S ajha Virasat Bachao Sammelan (Save Composite Culture Programme) is not against anybody but in the interest of the country. This is in the interest of 125 crore people of the country,” he said.

Tough for the underprivileged

He cited incidents such as the suicide of Rohith Vemula and the disappearance of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, besides farmer suicides across the country, to suggest that the situation is tough for underprivileged people.

While supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments against violence in the name of faith, Sharad said it is not reflected on the ground and Modi needs to tell his party’s governments to follow his dictum.

Sources close to him said invites to tomorrow’s meeting have been sent to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad among others in the Congress, Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M), Lalu Prasad of the RJD and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, besides others.

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