Sharad Yadav: Tributes to India's socialist leader, who died at the age of 75
The former federal minister, who had been in terrible condition for some years, died on Thursday night in a Delhi hospital.
In recent years, his political career, which spanned more than a half-century, experienced numerous ups and downs.
But, till the end, he maintained cordial contact with leaders from all political parties.
Yadav was a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) at the time of his death, having merged his own party, the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD), with the bigger political organization last year.
RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was once a friend, then a foe, and then an ally, claimed on Thursday night that their disputes had never led to enmity.
"We shouldn't have said goodbye like this," Mr. Yadav said in an emotional video message sent from Singapore, where he is recovering from a kidney transplant.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party expressed "sorrow" over the news on Twitter.
"During his many years in public life, he distinguished himself as an MP and minister," Mr. Modi said, adding that he will "cherish" their "interactions" in the future.
Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, paid a visit to Yadav's family members in Delhi to express his condolences.
"Sharad Yadav ji has taught me a lot about politics. His death today has broken my heart. He had a respectful connection with my grandmother [Indira Gandhi] "On Friday, Mr. Gandhi spoke to reporters.
Yadav, who was born in the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1947, studied engineering before entering politics.
He was part of a generation of politicians who were motivated by the towering socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia and began their careers by engaging in huge protests against the government of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Yadav won his first election with a landslide victory over the then-dominant Congress party in 1974.
He was instrumental in enabling the implementation of a federal government commission's recommendations to extend affirmative action programs to Other Backward Classes, which refers to a broad range of lower and intermediate castes in India, in the late 1980s.
He served in federal administrations led by VP Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He was one of the founders who created the Janata Dal (United) in 2003, and he left the party in 2018 after 15 years. He later founded the LJD, which had little political clout.
His daughter confirmed his death on Twitter on Thursday night with three Hindi words: Papa Nahi Rahe (Father is no more).
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