Former Union Minister Sharad Yadav dies at 75; PM Modi, others express condolences

New Delhi, Jan 12: Former Union minister and RJD leader Sharad Yadav died on Thursday. He was 75.

Yadav's associates said he collapsed at his Chhatarpur residence on Thursday night and was taken to Fortis hospital in Gurugram but could not be saved. The veteran socialist leader had been suffering from kidney-related issues for a long time and regularly underwent dialysis.

A statement from the Fortis Memorial Research Institute said Yadav was brought to the emergency ward 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," the statement said.

His daughter, Subhashini Sharad Yadav, confirmed the news on Twitter saying, "Papa nahi rahe (Papa is no more)."

He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.

Yadav was elected to Lok Sabha seven times and to Rajya Sabha thrice from JD(U). He was the first national president of Janata Dal (United) since its formation in 2003 till year 2016. He was disqualified from Rajya Sabha and removed from party leadership positions for engaging in anti-party activities.

Born on 1 July 1947, in Babai village in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh, Yadav obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Robertson College Jabalpur which branched into Government Science College, Jabalpur and Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Jabalpur Engineering College. He was an agriculturist, educationist and engineer by profession.

Most of his political career is from Bihar state. He married Rekha Yadav on 15 February 1989, with whom he has a son and a daughter.

His daughter Subhashini Raja Rao joined Indian National Congress just before 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly election and announced her plans to contest from Bihariganj seat. She contested the seat as a candidate of RJD and lost.

Sharad Yadav's son Shantanu Bundela is a post graduate from University of London.

Politicos express condolences

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over Yadav's demise. "Pained by the passing away of Shri Sharad Yadav Ji. In his long years in public life, he distinguished himself as MP and Minister. He was greatly inspired by Dr. Lohia's ideals. I will always cherish our interactions. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti," he tweeted.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge condoled Yadav's demise and said he strengthened the politics of quality. The Congress also said Yadav's demise is an irreparable loss to Indian politics.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav also expressed grief on Yadav's demise. "I am saddened by the news of the untimely demise of Mandal Messiah...great socialist leader and my guardian respected Sharad Yadav ji. I am speechless," he tweeted in Hindi.

The RJD leader said he had a conversation with his family members. "In this hour of grief, the entire Samajwadi fraternity is with his family members," he said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad condoled the death of former Union minister Sharad Yadav and asserted that their mutual differences "never resulted in any type of bitterness". Prasad, who has engaged in electoral battles with Yadav in the Madhepura Lok Sabha seat, issued a video statement from his hospital bed in Singapore where he is recuperating from a kidney transplant surgery.

Referring to Sharad Yadav as "bade bhai" (big brother), Prasad recalled his old association with the deceased leader. "He, besides late Mulayam Singh Yadav, Nitish Kumar and myself learnt politics of socialism from Ram Manohar Lohia and Karpoori Thakur," said the septuagenarian. "On many an occasion, Sharad Yadav and I fought with each other. But our disagreements never led to any bitterness," said the RJD supremo who had held out a helping hand to Yadav when the latter was struggling to come out of political wilderness.