Sharad Yadav, former union minister, dies aged 75

Sharad Yadav was a 7-time former Lok Sabha MP (PTI file photo)

Former union minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Sharad Yadav died on January 12, his daughter confirmed in a post on social media. The veteran politician was aged 75.

The Gurugram-based Fortis Memorial Research Institute, in a statement, said Yadav was brought to its emergency unit 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 hospital said.

Yadav was a seven-time former Lok Sabha MP, and had been elected thrice to the Rajya Sabha.

Counted amongst the top socialist leaders of the Hindi belt, Yadav had initiated his political career during the anti-Emergency movement of the mid-1970s.

He was first elected to the Parliament's Lower House in 1974, at the age of 27, in a by-poll from Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur seat. He was handpicked to contest the election by Jaiprakash Narayan, who had led the movement against the imposition of Emergency.

In 1989, Yadav was elected from Uttar Pradesh's Badaun parliamentary seat, and in 1991, 1996, 1999 and 2009, he was elected from Bihar's Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency.

Yadav had served as the union minister for civil aviation, consumer affairs and food and public distribution in the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vapayee between 1999 and 2004.

Yadav, along with incumbent Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was the co-founder of the Janata Dal (United) in 2003. The party continues to remain in power in Bihar since 2004.

Yadav was the president of JD(U) from its inception till 2016. However, he left the party in 2017, following a fallout with Nitish Kumar over his decision to break ranks with the Mahagathbandhan and re-enter into an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The two leaders recently met in New Delhi, days after Kumar severed ties with the BJP and reformed the grand alliance government in Bihar with the RJD and Congress.

Yadav, over the past couple of years, had called upon opposition parties across the country to unite against the Centre-ruling BJP. He was also among the leaders invited by the Congress for the concluding ceremony of the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on January 30.