JD(U) mulls tough resolution to end BJP ties: Sources

As the Janata Dal (United) prepares to split from the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, sources said a strongly-worded resolution will be read out on Sunday to break the 17-year-old alliance.

Also Read: Despite efforts, BJP-JD(U) alliance set to break today

Top JD(U) are meeting at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence in Patna to decide the fate of the alliance and after the meeting the resolution is likely to be read out.

Nitish Kumar also met Bihar Governor Dnyandeo Yashwantrao Patil and sought a fresh vote of confidence of the House. The sources said the Bihar Chief Minister is likely to call a special assembly session on June 21.

Earlier in the day, Nitish Kumar had called a cabinet meeting, which the BJP ministers skipped saying there is nothing important on the agenda of the meet. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, however, tried to play down the absence of the ministers saying "we are waiting for JD(U)'s decision and that's why BJP ministers are not attending Cabinet meeting". He also said the BJP was hopeful that the JD(U)'s decision will be in favour of the people of Bihar.

Meanwhile, BJP leader CP Thakur said the party ministers will quit Nitish Kumar's cabinet if needed but won't compromise on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's elevation.

Bihar NDA convenor Nand Kishore Yadav, however, ruled out the possibility of BJP ministers quitting the cabinet. He said the BJP wanted the alliance with the JD(U) intact.

While the BJP ministers in Bihar are awaiting JD(U)'s decision, BJP President Rajnath Singh called a meeting with senior party leaders from Bihar at his residence in Delhi.

Over the last few months, Nitish Kumar has given enough hints that elevation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was not acceptable to him. And since, Modi has been appointed as the BJP's campaign committee chief at the recently concluded National Executive in Goa, the Bihar Chief Minister has openly expressed his opposition to the decision.

"We need someone like Atal Bihari Vajpayee to be the prime minister. To lead a country, sometimes you need to wear a tilak and sometimes you need to wear a skull cap," Nitish Kumar said on Friday.

He also did not restrain himself from taking a dig at the BJP. Speaking to the media, the Bihar Chief Minister said: "The situation is dire. Though the BJP blesses the JD(U) with a long life, it acts in a way which is detrimental to our party."