New Delhi: Sharad Yadav’s close associate and former Rajya Sabha member Ali Anwar told News 18 on Wednesday evening that their faction had applied for a new party and Election Commission will give its verdict within a week.
Ali also made it clear that their fight of representing the real Janata Dal (United) would continue and they would present their case in the next hearing in Delhi High Court on March 1.”After taking permission from Sharad ji hundreds of our supporters signed a letter and applied for a new party. All formalities have been completed. We have suggested five names. The word ‘Janata’ is part of all the possible names as it is close to our hearts,” Anwar said.
Ali Anwar claimed that the new party would have national status. Sharad faction had distanced itself from Nitish Kumar after the latter broke away from RJD-Congress alliance and formed a new government with NDA.
After examining the petition filed by Nitish Kumar led the group, the vice president had disqualified Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar from the membership of the Upper House.
The EC had on Tuesday refused to take cognizance of its previous plea citing lack of documents to support its assertion.
Arun Kumar Shrivastav, a close aid of Yadav and the party’s general secretary before its president Nitish Kumar removed him from the post, told a press conference that the party’s national executive will meet in the national capital on Sunday.
In its application before the EC, the Yadav faction also registered its protest against its earlier decision, claiming it was based on “hyper-technical” ground and the Commission should have allowed them a hearing.The JD(U) leaders backing Kumar have claimed that an overwhelming number of popularly elected members of the party and its office bearers are with the Bihar CM, and Yadav enjoys little support. They had also submitted affidavits of the leaders supporting Kumar with the Commission.
The meeting, he claimed, will show Yadav’s support in the party and it will be followed by the national council meeting on October 8.