Sharad Yadav says successor to Nitish to be chosen tomorrow

Soon after Nitish Kumar resigned as Bihar Chief Minister, president of his party JD(U) Sharad Yadav today said his successor would be chosen tomorrow and made it clear that the party will tie-up even with bitter rival RJD for formation of a "secular alliance".

"A CM candidate will be decided tomorrow...We will take a decision tomorrow which will surprise the nation. We will save the country," Yadav told reporters here.

He was speaking soon after Kumar resigned as Bihar Chief Minister taking moral responsibility for the party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls in which it got only two out of 40 seats.

Stressing that JD(U) remains the single largest party and will form the government under a new leader, he rejected suggestions that Kumar quit for the fear of a split in the party.

"There is no rebellion. If there is any rebel why doesn't he go to the Governor? who is stopping them?," he shot back.

Commenting on the election results, Yadav said, "The kind of mandate that has come has posed a challenge to us. We will effectively deal with it. We will rally non-BJP people around."

When asked if the non-BJP 'secular alliance' meant that the hatchet with Lalu would be buried, he said, "the question is about the country. So if there are old differences, they do not pose a problem.

"All of them (differences) will be over and the battle will begin from there. Bihar is the place from where most agitations and new paths emerge. There are all kind of secular people and all will participate in that," he said.

Yadav, however, declined to dwell in details over any such alliance, saying timing is of great importance in politics.

Emphasising that all secular forces, including Lalu-led RJD, will come together in the state, Sharad Yadav said he was making this statement despite losing in the election to a candidate put up by RJD. Yadav lost in Madhepura to Pappu Yadav.

He reacted strongly to suggestion that Kumar's resignation was a political drama. "If you don't know him, it is not our fault. He has not resigned for drama."

Kumar had expressed his wish to resign yesterday night but he asked him to wait for his arrival so that a united decision could be taken by the party, he said.

Asked if the remarkable performance of BJP in Lok Sabha elections meant that JD(U)'s decision to split from the party might have been a mistake, he shot back, saying his party might have shrunk in size but remains steadfast to its principles.