The vanquished unite: 6 Janata parivar parties announce merger

Mulayam says defeating BJP primary objective

In a development that could have an impact on the national politics in the days to come and also have a bearing on Narendra Modi government’s legislative agenda, six parties -- all of which were part of the erstwhile Janata Dal that formed a government at the Centre in 1989 -- formally announced their merger on Wednesday.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav was declared president of the new outfit. Leaders of these parties said defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was their primary objective.  

The new party comprises Mulayam’s Samajwadi Party, Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav-led Janata Dal (United), Om Prakash Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal, Lalu Prasad Yadav-headed Rashtriya Janata Dal, HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) of former primeminister HD Deve Gowda and the Samajwadi Janata Party.

Mulayam said the Modi government’s performance has disappointed the marginalised sections of the population, and it has failed to deliver on any of its promises. He said the BJP-led government has become arrogant, which does not consult the opposition while its affiliates have been stoking anti-minority sentiment. Lalu said none of the leaders have any “ego problems”, including with his bitter rival Nitish, and will be together to drive the BJP out of Bihar.  

The immediate goal of the new party is to contest the Bihar Assembly elections, slated for October-November, under a common flag and election symbol and then the elections to Uttar Pradesh Assembly in early 2017. The leaders constituted a six-member committee to decide on the name, election symbol, programmes and policies of the new party. The members are Gowda, Lalu, Chautala, Sharad, Ram Gopal and Kamal Morarka of Samajwadi Janata Party.

The new party’s constituents currently run state governments in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The BJP hopes to repeat its triumph of the Lok Sabha elections in the UP and Bihar Assembly polls. Victories in the two states will also improve the Modi government’s strength in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority.

The BJP, along with its allies, won 104 of the 120 seats on offer in the two states in the Lok Sabha. The JD (U) and RJD had contested that election separately but their combined vote share was more than that of the BJP and its allies. In the by-elections to 10 Assembly seats of Bihar in late 2014, the two parties along with Congress defeated BJP candidates in most seats.

The new party has also accommodated concerns of Mulayam’s brothers Shivpal Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav.

There is a tentative understanding that the new name could be Rashtriya Samajwadi Dal, and it is likely to adopt ‘bicycle’, the symbol of the SP, for the immediate future. The leaders, however, are keen to explore the possibility of getting the ‘chakra’ or wheel symbol of the original Janata Dal.

"Whenever we have come together, we have formed the government at the Centre. We will do it again," said Mulayam. The six parties have their historical roots in the Socialist Party. Together, they either led or were key constituents of the non-Congress governments in the states in 1967 and at the Centre in 1977, 1989 and 1996.

The Jana Sangh, the earlier avatar of the BJP, was a part of the state governments of 1967 and the 1977 government at the Centre and had supported the VP Singh government of 1989 from outside. Some of the Janata Parivar's former partners who have refused to join the new outfit include Ram Vilas Paswan, whose Lok Janshakti Party with six MPs in Lok Sabha is a BJP ally; Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal is in political limbo, while Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal rules Odisha and has 20 MPs in the Lok Sabha and seven in the Upper House.

JANATA CONSTITUENTS

• Currently run state governments in Uttar Pradesh (SP) and Bihar (JDU+RJD)
   
• Are the main opposition party in Karnataka (JDS) and in Haryana (INLD)
   
• Together, they have 30 MPs in the Rajya Sabha and 15 in the Lok Sabha