Rashtriya Janata Dal

Rashtriya Janata Dal - National Peoples Party is one of the major political party in India. The party was founded in 1997 by Laloo Prasad Yadav. It has a strong presence in Bihar under the leadership of Laloo Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi. Traditionally, the mass base of the party has been Yadavs and Muslims, two large and relatively politically active segments of Bihar's population.

RJD lost power after the elections in 2005, when a Nitish Kumar-led coalition NDA government wrested power from Rabri Devi, who had been chief minister of the state for XX years. The RJD is also a constituent of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)led by the Congress at the Centre.

Following the performance of the RJD in the last few elections, the Election Commission has now accorded it the status of a recognized national level party in 2008. RJD recently came into the headlines for its allegedly clandestine seat-sharing deal with Ram Vilas Paswans Lok Jana Shakti Party, leaving just three seats for the Congress. According to sources, the alliance between Congress and RJD is over now. The party will combine with Lok Janata Party leaving only three seats for the Congress. Now, with the Congress declaring its intentions to contest 37 seats in Bihar, RJDs marriage with the Congress in the UPA seems to be hanging a question mark