Bihar

• 13 Jan 2023

Former Union Minister Sharad Yadav Passed Away

Why In News?

• On January 12, 2023, former Union Minister and former National President of Janata Dal (United) Sharad Yadav passed away at a hospital in Gurugram at the age of 75.

Key Points

• Born on July 1, 1947 in Babai village of Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh, Sharad Yadav was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1974 in a by-election from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
• Sharad Yadav was a minister in the V P Singh-led government in 1989. He took charge as the Union Minister handling the portfolio of civil aviation and food and civil supplies in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in the late 90s .
• He was the first JD (U) president and held the post from 2003 to 2016 . In May 2018, he launched the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) after parting ways with the JD(U) due to an alliance with the BJP in Bihar. In March 2022, he merged his party Loktantrik Janata Dal with the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
• A ten-time MP (seven times in Lok Sabha and three times in Rajya Sabha), Sharad Yadav was regarded as a socialist leader for a long time. He was inspired by the philosophy of Ram Manohar Lohia and was one of the prominent faces of the JP movement.
• Sharad Yadav won the Lok Sabha elections from three states - twice from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, once from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh and four times from Madhepura in Bihar.