Sharad Yadav formed new party: Nitish Kumar faction tells HC

The Janata Dal (United) faction led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today told the Delhi High Court that the Sharad Yadav faction, which was claiming to be the real JD(U), has formed a new political party.

An additional affidavit filed by Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, Rajya Sabha MP and JD(U) general secretary, said Yadav and other individuals, who had claimed to represent the real JD(U), had launched a new political party, called the 'Loktantrik Janata Dal', in May.

Justice V Kameswar Rao asked Singh to file an application to place the affidavit on record.

The court listed the matter, relating to a plea against the Election Commission's order rejecting the claim of the Yadav faction over the party's name and poll symbol 'Arrow', for final disposal on September 13.

In a separate matter pending before the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, the Nitish Kumar faction had said that former party president Sharad Yadav's disqualification as a Rajya Sabha member was valid as he has formed another political party.

Today, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioner K Rajasekaran, the president of the Yadav faction, said they would respond to the application.

The Nitish Kumar faction's affidavit, filed through advocates Gopal Singh and Shivam Singh, said "during the pendency of the matter, a new political party called the 'Loktantrik Janata Dal' has been formed/launched on May 18, 2018 at the Talkatora Stadium (Delhi) by all those very persons and individuals including Sharad Yadav (the so-called founding father) who claim themselves to be the real Janata Dal (United) in the matter."