Wednesday, November 23 2005 20:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), voted out of power in Bihar assembly poll, was understood to have decided to elect former Chief Minister Rabri Devi as the head of its legislature group, paving the way for her becoming leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.

Rabri told reporters here today (Nov 23, 2005) the newly-elected MLAs of the party would meet here on Friday to elect their leader.

The former CM, who presided over the Government for a longer period than her husband and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav during their 15-year-rule, said her party would play the role of a 'responsible opposition' and raise issues relating to the poor and the downtrodden.

Rabri alleged there was a 'deep-rooted conspiracy' to defeat the RJD-led alliance.

"We were engaged in campaign and were not aware of the conspiracy which was going on in a subtle manner to ensure the defeat of RJD," she said in her first reaction to RJD's performance in the poll in Bihar.

The former Bihar CM did not name the Election Commission but cited large-scale transfer of Dalit, backward class and minority community officials and the style of EC's special observer K J Rao to drive home her point regarding the 'conspiracy.'