Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/DELHI: Indian politicians paid tribute to socialist leader Sharad Yadav, who died at 75. Yadav was one of India’s foremost socialist leaders.
The former federal minister died in a Delhi hospital on Thursday night due to poor health. During his political career spanning over a half-century, Yadav saw many ups and downs. However, he maintained a good relationship with other leaders from various political parties.
Tributes Paid to Sharad Yadav
Yadav was part of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) at the time of his death after he merged his party, the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD), with the larger political entity last year. RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, a friend who became a rival and then again an ally, said on Thursday night that their differences never led to any bitterness.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a Twitter message that this news made him sad. “In his long public life, he distinguished himself as a minister and an MP.” Modi added that he would always “cherish” their “interactions.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Yadav’s family in Delhi to offer condolences. He said, “I have learned much from Sharad Yadav about politics. I am saddened by his passing away today, and he shared a relationship of respect with my grandmother (Indira Gandhi).”
Born in Madhya Pradesh state in 1947, Yadav, before entering politics, studied engineering. He belonged to a group of politicians who were influenced by the towering socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia and began their political career by taking part in large-scale protests against the administration of former prime minister late Indira Gandhi.
Yadav defeated the then-dominant Congress party in his first election, which he won with a commanding majority in 1974. He served as a minister in VP Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led federal governments.
In 2003, he was among the leaders who founded the Janata Dal (United) – he left the party in 2018 after 15 eventful years. He then formed the LJD, which could have made a more political impact.
On Thursday night, his daughter announced her father’s death on Twitter with three words in Hindi: Papa Nahi Rahe (father is no more).
