New Delhi: The Sharad Yadav faction of the Janata Dal (United), or JDU, on Thursday filed a fresh claim before the Election Commission (EC) for the party’s symbol and sought four weeks’ time to submit relevant documents.
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. The meeting, he claimed, will show Yadav’s support in the party and it will be followed by the national council meeting on 8 October.
Shrivastav claimed that most of the state units are with Yadav in his fight against Kumar. “It will be clear on 17 September how much support Sharad Yadav has in the party. It is Bihar chief minister Kumar and not Yadav who strayed from the party’s avowed position and betrayed it by joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” he said.
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 JDU leaders backing Kumar have claimed that an overwhelming number of popularly elected members of the party and its office bearers are with the Bihar chief minister, and Yadav enjoys little support. They had also submitted affidavits of the leaders supporting Kumar with the Commission.