Sharad Yadav faction drums up support of 14 JDU state units

The Sharad Yadav faction on Sunday claimed that it has support of JDU’s 14 state units, ahead of the party’s national executive next weekend to formally join the NDA.

Yadav recently said that he represents the “real JDU” and Bihar Chief Minister 
Nitish Kumar the “sarkari JDU”.

At a meeting on August 19 in Patna, the JDU will also assess the damage and formulate strategy to counter rebels led by Yadav, said a leader here. JDU general secretary Arun Shrivastava, who was removed from the post after he was seen instrumental in egging lone party MLA Chottu Vasava to vote for Congress candidate Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat, claimed that 14 state unit presidents have come out in support of Yadav.

Shrivastava also said that Nitish Kumar himself had said that JDU exists only in Bihar, but that’s not true, he added, as it has national presence.

“We will not leave the party. Nitish himself says that the party does not exist outside Bihar. Then he should form a new party for Bihar. He should not try to capture the JDU, which always had a national presence,” the disgruntled leader told a news agency.

Earlier, Shrivastava, who is travelling with Yadav in Bihar to garner public support, claimed that 20 JDU MLAs are with them, but he had pointed out that they would not join them since they will have to give up the party membership in that case for indulging in anti-party activities.