Thursday, January 27 2005 14:25 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: Bihar's main Opposition alliance NDA (National Democratic Alliance) today (Jan 27, 2005) asserted that the issue of Chief Ministership would be settled by its MLAs "within moments" of it securing a majority in the Assembly poll next month (February).

"Our MLAs will decide within moments who will be the leader of our alliance to head the Government after the NDA gets a majority," senior JD-U (Janata Dal-United) leader Nitish Kumar said while addressing a joint press conference with BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) general secretary Arun Jaitley.

The NDA leaders also ruled out a hung Assembly after the elections in Bihar and asserted that they were confident of coming to power with a "thumping and clear majority".

RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) president Laloo Prasad had recently said that there was no vacancy for the post of Chief Minister in Bihar and Rabri Devi would continue to rule as RJD was set to romp to victory again.

He had also asked the NDA to come out with the name of their candidate for the post. Asked whether the NDA would offer LJP (Lok Janashakti Party) president Ram Vilas Paswan the post of Chief Minister in the event of NDA falling short of a majority and Paswan deciding to "switch sides", Kumar and Jaitley said "we don't expect a fractured mandate as the NDA on its own has emerged as a strong political force in which the electorate seeking a change in governance has found a stable and viable alternative."

Jaitley said that the NDA's prospects of coming to power have also brightened as both BJP and JD-U had rectified their mistakes committed during the 2000 Assembly poll and last Lok Sabha poll by effecting a perfect seat-sharing accord and launching a joint campaign.