Nitish decision unfortunate, says Sharad Yadav

Senior JD(U) leader and Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav on Monday broke his silence over Nitish Kumar's decision to junk Grand Alliance and form a government in Bihar with BJP support terming it "unfortunate" and against the 2015 mandate.

Yadav's public disapproval came four days after Kumar, also the JD(U) President, made a surprise announcement last Wednesday evening to go with BJP, giving a blow to efforts to cobble up Opposition unity to take on Narendra Modi-led BJP.

"I don't agree with the decision in Bihar, its unfortunate.The mandate by the people was not for this," Yadav told reporters outside Parliament House.

He had been keeping his options close to his chest though he interacted with senior opposition leaders from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to RJD chief Lalu Prasad to Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. He also held discussions with Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja and SP National President Akhikesh Yadav among others.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was the first Opposition leader whom Yadav met on Thursday, a day after Kumar took the decision.

The senior leader, who hasn't made it clear whether he would quit the party, was also present in Rajya Sabha on mondaybwhen he raised the alleged privatisation of Ordnance factories in the country.

When the House was adjourned for a brief period, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley walked up to him and had a brief chat. SP's Ramgopal Yadav, BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra, Congress' Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh as well as CPI (M)'s Tapan Sen were seen talking to him.

Speculation were rife that Yadav may get a berth in Union Cabinet after Jaitley met him last week. However, his close aides were maintaining that he was unhappy over Kunar's decision while some Opposition leaders felt that he was yet to maje up his mind.Janata Dal United (JDU) president Sharad Yadav on Monday broke his silence over the recent political development that took place in Bihar, and termed it as "unfortunate". He said that he doesn't agree with the party leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar decision as the people's mandate was not for this, reported ANI.