Sharad New Dal Chief, To Work For Unity

Sharad Yadav was yesterday elected president of a fractured Janata Dal defeating by an overwhelming margin incumbent chief Laloo Prasad Yadav who floated his Rashtriya Janata Dal on Saturday after boycotting the July three election.

Sharad Yadav, at present working president of the party, polled 691 votes against 58 secured by his high-profile opponent in a straight fight that brought to an end a month-long tussle for the party's top post punctuated by protracted legal battles between the Bihar Chief Minister and the returning officer, Pravat Samantray. The announcement of the result after counting of votes today marks the completion of the internal democratic exercise on the directives of the election commission and at the intervention of the Supreme Court.

A total of 758 votes were polled out in an electorfal college of 939 national council members as a majority of members from Bihar, including Union ministers and MLAs boycotted the election in response to Laloo Prasad Yadav's call. He drew some support from national council members from Karnataka including two Union ministers S R Bommai and R L Jalappa and a half dozen MPs who, however, have not joined his party so far. A jubilant Sharad Yadav yesterday pledged to work for party unity and a rapprochement with those who broke away to launch another party 'Rashtriya Janata Dal'. Talking to newsmen here after he was declared elected, Yadav said the need of the hour was to 'heal the wounds' of all those who deserted the Janata Dal and find ways to bring them back into the party fold.

Yadav said senior party leaders, including Prime Minister I K Gujral, shared this view and they too appeared to be keen on 'removing the bitterness created by the party presidential poll' to strengthen the organisation.

'The party should not be weakened at any cost,' Yadav said, adding 'everybody in the Janata Dal holds this view and collective leadership will continue to be the essence of the Janata Dal.'