Janata Parivar merger: Mulayam Singh to head newly formed party

Six parties from earstwhile Janata Parivar formally merged on Wednesday. Mulayam Singh Yadav will be heading the newly formed political outfit. The name, flag and symbol of the party though is yet to be determined. 

Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal, Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, Om Prakash Chautala's Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), and H.D. Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular) have come together to form a party which is largely seen as an effort to stop the juggernaut of Bharatiya Janata Party especially in the Hindi heartland. 

First test of the new party will be Bihar election next year. Reports suggest   Nitish Kumar will be the chief ministerial candidate of the newly floated political outfit . Mulayam Singh Yadav will be the leader of the group in the Lok sabha, while JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav will lead it in the Rajya Sabha.

Currently, the Samajwadi Party has five seats in the Lok Sabha, 15 in the Rajya Sabha and 232 in the 403 member state Assembly. It is also in power in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The RJD has four Lok Sabha members and one in the Rajya Sabha, while the JD (U) has two in the Lok Sabha and 12 in the Rajya Sabha.

The Janata Dal-Secular has two seats in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha, while INLD has two members in the Lower House and one in the Upper House of the Parliament. In total, the SJP will have strength of 15 members in the Lower House and 30 in the Upper House.

Polls in Bihar are scheduled to be held later this year, whereas elections in Uttar Pradesh are slated for 2017.  

With ANI inputs