Saturday, April 16 2005 13:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: Either cobble together a majority to become Chief Minister or support a Rabri Devi-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government in Bihar to end the current impasse.

"After all, there are limits to one's holding patience. How long will the newly-elected MLAs wander on roads. Either Paswan saheb should himself strive to cobble together a majority with like-minded parties and become CM or extend support to a Rabri Devi-led UPA Government in Bihar," Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) MLA Ajay Kumar Bulganin told reporters in Hajipur yesterday (Apr 15, 2005).

An LJP leader pleading anonymity confirmed Bulganin and a few other party MLAs meeting Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Laloo Prasad at his one, Anne Marg residence in Patna on Thursday (Apr 14, 2005) night to discuss strategy for Government formation.

The rebel MLAs also held a closed-door meeting at the residence of another party MLA Punam Yadav at a posh apartment on Frazer road in Patna last night over the issue of Government formation but Bulganin later refused to divulge what transpired during their meeting.

The exercise comes close on the heels of RJD chief Laloo Prasad charging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with trying to bribe the Independents and MLAs of smaller parties to cobble together a majority to form a non-RJD Government.

Laloo while addressing his party workers at a meeting organised to review the party poll performance in Patna division had yesterday accused BJP of "trying to buy Independents and MLAs of smaller parties and a whopping Rs 15 crore has already been transported from New Delhi to Patna for the purpose", a charge denied by BJP State president Gopal Narayan Singh.

LJP president Paswan, who stuck to his old stand on maintain equi-distance from the BJP and RJD, had already ruled out a split in his legislature party. "People know that I am Steel Minister and my MLAs are made of steel and no body will succeed in his sinister attempt to engineer a split," he said.