)
Sticking to his stand of not continuing as Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar on Sunday began consultations to find his successor, even as Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav tried to distance himself from the allegations that he was attempting a coup in the state.
In what looked like an internal power crisis in JD(U), while the party's members of legislative Assembly (MLAs) urged Kumar to withdraw his resignation and sought time until Monday, slogans were raised against Sharad Yadav at the JD(U) legislature party meeting in Patna.
After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), JD(U)'s erstwhile ally and now a bitter critic, made it clear it would not fish in the troubled waters of Kumar's party, Yadav was said to be in touch with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad. He gave the game away when he said: "I have been saying this since yesterday (Saturday). Once someone resigns in our party, he does not come back. We will now choose a new leader."
However, party MLAs refused to accept Bijender Yadav, Sharad Yadav's nominee for the post, as their leader. At the same time, they insisted Nitish Kumar's decision was politically correct.
"He feels morally responsible for the party's poor performance in the general elections. Several senior leaders also hold him responsible for the debacle. They felt his decision to part ways with BJP led to the party's poor show. Kumar has resigned to settle this matter forever. He does not want to reconsider his decision, as any step backwards would be seen as a political stunt," said a JD(U) leader.
The legislators are expected to continue urging Kumar to be their leader. However, if he refuses to entertain their request, they could ask him to choose his successor. It is expected Kumar would on Monday propose the name of an upper-caste leader, such as Vashishtha Narayan Singh. That would settle the debate on correctness, or otherwise, of breaking the alliance with BJP. Upper castes' desertion of JD(U) and wholesale defection to BJP are seen by many as the primary reason for the party's weak performance in the elections.
Sharad Yadav, meanwhile, invited Lalu Prasad's RJD and the Congress to come together and form a 'Secular Front'. RJD did not seem averse to this move but refused to reveal its card before the JD(U) MLAs' meeting. Prasad's party has 21 members in the state legislature, while JD(U) has 117, including the speaker. JD(U) also enjoys support of four Congress members and four independents. The BJP has a strength of 90 MLAs in the House.
