Patna: Amid reports that the Janata Dal (United) is likely to crack the whip on senior party member Sharad Yadav, the former party president on Thursday announced that he was still with the Grand Alliance of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress.
In a display of defiance against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the senior Janata Dal (United) leader said that the splitting up of the alliance has broken the trust of 11 crore people of Bihar and he is "hurt" by it.
He arrived at the airport in Patna to embark on a three-day Bihar tour, during which he would hold "direct dialogue" with the people over breaking of the JD(U)-RJD-Congress coalition and formation of the JD(U)-BJP alliance government.
Earlier, after Nitish Kumar had walked away from the Grand Alliance, Sharad Yadav had said it was a "betrayal" of the people's mandate.
Now it is clear the JD(U) too is maintaining a distance with Yadav during the trip. While only a handful of JD(U) workers were present at the airport to receive him, RJD supporters were seen in large numbers.
Senior JD(U) leader and former Bihar minister Ramai Ram was the big name present at the airport. Former RJD legislator Ram Badan Rai was also at the airport.
"The trust of 11 crore people who gave mandate to form the Grand Alliance government in Bihar has been broken," Yadav told reporters.
"The agreement of Gatbandhan (Grand Alliance) was for five years which has been broken...I am hurt by this," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
He said the Grand Alliance and the BJP had put out different manifestos for the state election and they were face-to-face. "It's for the first time in history of the country that the two manifestos of rival groupings have mingled."
"I continue to stand for the 'Gathbandhan' (Grand Alliance)," he said.
Asked whether his trip did not amount to "anti-party activity", Yadav, who is the leader of the party in the Upper House, said, "I do not want to make any comment."
From the Patna airport, Sharad Yadav's convoy headed straight for Sonepur in Saran district. From there, he would go to Hajipur and stop at Muzaffarpur during the night.
As per his programme on his Twitter account, he would visit the Muzaffarpur-Darbhanga-Madhubani stretch on Friday and to Madhubani-Supual Madhepura on August 12.
Earlier, the ruling Janata Dal(United) on Wednesday distanced itself from Yadav`s visit.
"Sharad Yadav`s visit to Bihar is his personal initiative. The JD(U) has nothing to do with it," party state president Vashisht Narain Singh said.
JD(U) leaders started targeting Yadav since last week after he spoke out against Nitish Kumar`s decision to embrace the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Apart from Sharad Yadav, two JD(U) Rajya Sabha MPs -- Ali Anwar Ansari and Virender Kumar -- have also voiced their opposition to Nitish Kumar`s decision to join hands with the BJP. Both are in touch with Sharad Yadav.
(With Agency inputs)
