Sharad Yadav Age, Caste, Death, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known facts About Sharad Yadav

• Sharad Yadav was an Indian politician and a former parliamentarian who co-founded the Janata Dal (United) in 2003 and the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) in 2018. He died on 12 January 2023 at Gurugram, Haryana, India.

• His affiliation with politics began in the early 1970s when he became the president of the student union while pursuing engineering. After getting influenced by Ram Manohar Lohia’s ideals, he got involved with Jai Prakash Narayan, who was leading a national political movement. He joined the Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) in 1974. For partaking in mass student movements in India, he was jailed under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) several times.
  

  Sharad Yadav standing behind J. P. Narayan and Lalu Prasad Yadav

• He contested the 1974 Lok Sabha bye-polls from Jabalpur on J. P. Narayan’s request. The bye-polls were held after Congress leader Seth Govind Das passed away, and his seat in the Lok Sabha fell vacant. Sharad contested the elections on Bharatiya Lok Dal’s ticket against Ravimohan Das, son of Govind Das, and defeated him. Sharad contested the polls while he was in jail as he had participated in several movements against Indira Gandhi-led Indian National Congress. He, however, resigned from the Lok Sabha in 1976 in a protest against Indira’s decision of extending the term of an MP from five years to six years.
  

  An old photo of Sharad Yadav (in the middle)

• In 1977, he contested the general elections from the Jabalpur constituency on a ticket of BLD and emerged victorious. He remained a member of parliament till 1977.

• In the same year, he became a member of the Janata Party which was formed after BLD’s merger with parties like Janata Morcha, the Indian National Congress (O), and the Socialist Party of India.

• He became the President of the youth wing of the Janata Dal, Yuva Janata Dal (YJD), in 1978.

• Sharad Yadav joined the Janata Party (Secular) after its split from the Janata Party in 1979.

• Later, he was appointed as the general secretary of the Lokdal after its foundation in 1980.

• In the same year, he contested the general elections from the Jabalpur constituency on Janata Party (Secular) ticket. He, however, lost the elections.

• Sharad assumed the presidency of the Yuva Lok Dal (YLD) in July 1986.

• He became a member of the Rajya Sabha in July 1986 from Uttar Pradesh.

• In 1988, he joined the Janata Dal (JD) after the Janata Party (Secular) merged with JD.

• He served as a member of the parliament from 1989 to 1991 after winning the 1989 Lok Sabha elections from the Budaun constituency in Uttar Pradesh on a ticket of the Janata Dal (JD).

• In 1989, he was made the general secretary of the Janata Dal, a post that he held till 1997.

• From 1989 to 1990, he served as the Minister of Textiles and Food Processing Industries.

• He contested the 1991 Lok Sabha elections from Bihar’s Madhepura constituency on a ticket from Janata Dal and won. He served as an MP till 1996.

• He is considered to be the driving factor behind the implementation of the recommendations made by the Mandal Commission in 1990 that led to the implementation of the reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in India.
  

  Sharad Yadav (standing with a crutch) with his supporters outside the parliament after submitting a memorandum for OBC reservation

• He supported Lalu Prasad Yadav’s candidature during the 1990 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections. He, however, parted ways with Lalu after he was accused of indulging in a fodder scam in 1997.
  

  Sharad Yadav (standing) with Lalu Prasad Yadav during election campaigning

• From 1991 to 1996, he served as the chairman of the Janata Dal Parliamentary Board.

• On a ticket from JD, he contested and won the 1996 general elections from Bihar’s Madhepura constituency. He remained the MP till 1997. As a parliamentarian, he served on the Committee on Finance as its chairman.

• He served as the president of Janata Dal from 1997 to 1999.

• He became a member of the parliament from the Madhepura constituency in Bihar after winning the 1999 general elections on a ticket from Janata Dal. He defeated Lalu Prasad Yadav, RJD chief, in the elections.

• From October 1999 to August 2001, he served as the Minister of Civil Aviation.

• He held the portfolio of the Labour Ministry from September 2001 to June 2002.
  

  A picture of Sharad Yadav with Atal Bihari Vajpayee

• On 1 July 2002, he became the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and served in the post till 21 May 2004.
  

  A photo of Sharad Yadav taken when he was serving as the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution

• In 2003, Sharad Yadav co-founded Janata Dal (United) with Nitish Kumar and George Fernandes after splitting from the Janata Dal due to rising differences between the trio and the party.
  

  Sharad Yadav with Nitish Kumar

• On a ticket from JD(U), he contested the 2004 general elections from the Madhepura constituency of Bihar; however, he lost the elections.

• In July 2004, he got elected to the Rajya Sabha and served as an MP till 2009.

• In August 2004, he was appointed to the Business Advisory Committee, and he served as its member till September 2006.

• From August 2004 to October 2006, Sharad served as a member of the General Purposes Committee.

• He was appointed to the Committee on Water Resources as its member in August 2004. He served as its member till May 2009.

• He served on the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Home Affairs as its member from October 2004 to May 2009.

• In May 2006, he was appointed to the Parliamentary Forum on Population and Public Health as a member. He served on the committee till May 2009.

• He became a member of the Committee on Ethics in June 2006 and served till May 2009.

• He served on India and Nepal’s joint Parliamentary Group as President in September 2007.

• In October 2007, he became a member of the Samsad (Court) of Visva Bharati and served till May 2009.

• From May 2008 to May 2009, he served on the Committee on Installation of Portraits/Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarians in Parliament House Complex as its member.

• He contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on a ticket from JD(U) and emerged victorious from the Madhepura constituency in Bihar.

• He served as the chairman of the Committee on Urban Development from 31 August 2009 till May 2014.

• In March 2011, he became a member of the JPC to examine matters relating to Allocation and pricing of Telecom Licences and Spectrum. He served as its member till October 2013.

• In December 2013, he was appointed to the Parliamentary Forum on Millennium Development Goals as its president.

• Sharad Yadav was the convener of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He, however, left the position after Nitish Kumar broke the alliance with the NDA in 2013.

• Sharad Yadav won the 2012 Outstanding Parliamentarian Award. The award was given to him in 2014.
  

  Sharad Yadav receiving the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award from President Pranab Mukherjee

• In 2014, he contested the Lok Sabha elections from Bihar’s Madhepura constituency and lost the elections on a ticket from JD(U).

• The same year, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha as its member as JD(U)’s candidate from Bihar.

• In September 2014, Sharad was appointed to the General Purposes Committee as a member.

• From September 2014 to August 2016, he served as a member of the Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas.

• He became a member of the Committee on Ethics in October 2014.

• In October 2014, he was appointed as a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Maintenance of Heritage Character and Development of Parliament House Complex. He served as the committee’s member till July 2016.

• He held the position of chairman of the Committee on Provision of Computers to Members of the Rajya Sabha from December 2014 to July 2016.

• Sharad was appointed as a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Security in the Parliament House Complex on April 2015 and served until July 2016.

• In May 2015, he became a member of the Joint Committee on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill and served till July 2016.

• In 2016, the JD(U) nominated him as its Rajya Sabha election candidate from Bihar. Sharad was re-elected as an MP from Rajya Sabha.

• He assumed the position of chairman of the Committee on Industry in July 2016.
  

  A picture of Sharad Yadav taken while he was delivering a speech in the Rajya Sabha

• He became a member of the Joint Committee on Offices of Profit and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in November 2016.

• From April 2017 to July 2017, he served on the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-third Amendment) Bill as a member.

• Sharad’s membership in Rajya Sabha was cancelled in December 2017 after the JD(U) wrote a letter to Venkaiah Naidu, the chairman of Rajya Sabha, after he defected and joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He left JD(U) as he was unhappy with Nitish Kumar’s decision to align the party with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The disqualification took place on the grounds of the anti-defection law. In its statement, the JD(U) said,
  

  Our party had already sent him (Sharad Yadav) a letter asking him not to attend Lalu Prasad’s rally and if he did, it would be considered that he was voluntarily leaving the party. The rally was called by RJD, not by JDU. Sharad Yadav participated and delivered a speech in another party’s rally despite being asked not to do so by the party. It is disappointing that he has spoken nothing about RJD’s corruption, despite our party taking a clear stand against it.”

• In 2018, Sharad Yadav established the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) with Ali Anwar. The party was a registered unrecognized party and was merged with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in March 2022.

• He lost the 2019 general elections from the Mahdepura constituency in Bihar on RJD’s ticket.

• In an interview, Sharad’s elder brother SPS Yadav said that after the family land was divided between the brothers following their mother’s death, Sharad donated his share to a trust for the construction of a school. Talking about it, his brother said,
  

  Everyone of us got four acres of land in their share. Sharad decides to donate his entire land in the name of his mother. Gave the responsibility to a private organization to open a school in the name of Maa Sumitra, where children can get good education.”

• Sharad Yadav breathed his last on 12 January 2023 after a cardiac arrest. He was admitted to the Fortis Memorial Hospital after he collapsed in his house. He was declared dead on arrival by the doctors at the hospital. ^[9]ThePrint In a statement, the hospital said,
  

  Sharad Yadav was brought to the emergency at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, in an unconscious and unresponsive state. On examination, he did not have any pulse or recordable blood pressure. He underwent CPR as per ACLS protocols. Despite best efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 10.19 pm. We would like to convey our deepest condolences to his family.”

  Sharad Yadav was cremated with full state honours on 14 January 2023 in Madhya Pradesh.

  

  Home Minister Amit Shah paying his last respects to Sharad Yadav at his funeral