SP, JD(U), RJD, JD(S) & INLD sign pact to re-unite as Samajwadi Janata Party

NEW DELHI: The Capital witnessed yet another get together of samajwadi politicians of the Ram Manohar Lohia school and temperament, when they signed a pact to merge their five parties.

It scripted a new chapter in the colourful saga of socialist politics, but the resolve of the Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (U), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (S) and Indian National Lok Dal to merge under the mutually agreed leadership of Mulayam Singh Yadav marks a turning point in Indian politics after Narendra Modi assumed power at the Centre. If the splits were dictated mostly by ego clashes and rifts associated with power-sharing, the merger resolve is a compulsion to safeguard the respective political turfs from the advancing army of Modi-led BJP and reduce the manoeuvre room for BJP to manage them individually to pass crucial bills.

The merger will also make the new party the third largest in the Rajya Sabha and nationally, with major presence in UP, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka and pockets of influences in Maharashtra, Kerala and MP. Though the party will coordinate with Congress against BJP, the socialists are groomed in making themselves a noisy Opposition party that could eclipse Congress. Since they are opposed to the new economic mantra, unlike the Congress, they are also likely to frequently target Modi government’s reform agenda.

Though the merging parties do not complement each other’s votes, except Bihar, the profile of five merged parties is likely to give the new party political momentum. At the official residence of Mulayam Singh Yadav in Delhi the top leaders of the five parties such as Nitish Kumar, Sharad Yadav, Lalu Prasad, Deve Gowda, Dushyant Chautala along with their colleagues and fellow travellers met over the lunch and inked the pact to merge into one party, tentatively called Samajwadi Janata Party.

The meeting authorised Mulayam Singh Yadav to work out modalities and clear technical requirements for the formation of the new party. Each of the five parties will hold respective conferences to pass merger resolutions. They will also work out the legal requirements before the Election Commission for registering a name and symbol.