'People's mandate was not for JDU-BJP alliance': Sharad Yadav breaks his silence

Breaking his silence on his party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal-United veteran Sharad Yadav on Monday said people's mandate was not for it, and termed the disintegration of Bihar's Grand Alliance "unpleasant" and "unfortunate".

"The situation is very unpleasant to us... It is unfortunate that the coalition has been broken. People's mandate was not for it," Yadav told reporters outside Parliament.

The Rajya Sabha member has met a number of opposition leaders since Bihar Chief Minister and JD-U chief Nitish Kumar walked out of the 3-party Grand Alliance, which included the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, and joined the National Democratic Alliance camp.

He has met top leaders from the Congress and the Left, fuelling speculation that he may sever his association with the party he had founded along with Kumar.

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Kumar, on the other hand, played down Yadav's views, saying people have different opinions in a democracy and the party leaders would get to air them at the JD-U's national executive meeting in Patna on August 19.

Addressing a press conference in Patna, he said the Bihar unit of the party had endorsed the decision to break ties with the RJD and join hands with the BJP.

He noted that the party was recognised only in Bihar, in an apparent attempt to brush aside dissent expressed by its different state units.

Kumar said that Yadav had also opposed the JD-U's decision to back the presidential bid of Ram Nath Kovind, a former Bihar governor.