Date:20/06/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/20/stories/2006062019251200.htm

National

JD(U) announces tie-up with the Apna Dal for U.P. polls

Gargi Parsai

NDA tie-up is at the Centre and not in States, says Sharad Yadav

To address public meetings to unite people against SP, BSP
Attempt to unite old Janata Party groups in Haryana

New office bearers and executive committee members announced

NEW DELHI: National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituent Janata Dal (United) on Monday announced its decision to forge an electoral alliance with the Apna Dal for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, scheduled for next year.

"We will have an electoral alliance with the Apna Dal and jointly take on the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which are nothing but limited companies," JD(U) president Sharad Yadav said here while announcing new office-bearers and executive committee members.

Asked about parting ways with the BJP in the State, he said the NDA was only at the Centre. In States, its constituents were free to forge suitable alliances and follow independent paths as in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Yadav said he, along with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Apna Dal leader Sonelal Patel, would tour Mirzapur, Varanasi and Jaunpur on June 25 and address public meetings to unite the people against the SP and BSP.

Efforts were on to bring together the JD(U), the JD(S), headed by the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, and the faction led by Siddharamaiah in Karnataka.

There were also attempts to unite old Janata Party groups in Haryana.

Asked about the emergence of a third front, he said the prospect was dim as long as the Left supported the UPA.

The coming together of the Samajwadi Party and the Telugu Desam Party was a step in "self-defence".

The former JD(U) president, George Fernandes, who fought a bitter battle with Mr. Yadav for the top post, would be an ex-officio member of the new national executive along with 10 MPs. Leaders of legislature parties, including Mr. Nitish Kumar and MLAs from Gujarat, Nagaland, Karnataka and Jharkhand would be members of the executive committee.

Ram Jiwan Singh would be the party vice-president and K.C. Tyagi the secretary-general. Shambhu Srivastava, M.P. Nada Gowda, Arun Kumar Srivastava, Shiv Kumar and Javed Raza would be the new general secretaries.

Afaque Ahmed will be the new secretary, while Govind Yadav has been made the Yuva Janata Dal (U) president and Rupesh Kumar secretary-general.

Pratyush Nandan is the new president of the "chhatra" wing, while Laxmi Goswami retained president of the "mahila" wing.

Jagannath Mishra is the new chairman of the Kisan Sabha, while Hari Kishore Singh would head the foreign cell. The national executive will have 61 members and there would be 10 special invitees.