PATNA, 28 January 2005 — Bihar’s main opposition alliance National Democratic Alliance yesterday asserted that the issue of chief ministership would be settled by its MLAs “within moments” of it securing a majority in the assembly polls next month.

“Our MLAs will decide within moments who will be the leader of our alliance to head the government after the NDA gets a majority in Bihar,” senior Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar said while addressing a joint press conference with BJP 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”.

Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad had on Wednesday 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 Lok Janshakti 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 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 polls and last Lok Sabha polls by effecting a perfect seat-sharing accord and launching a joint campaign

Meanwhile, Muslims’ participation in the electoral process in Bihar Assembly elections could be an eye-opener to their political consciousness.

No less than 90 percent of the male Muslim voters and 88.4 percent of the female voters in the rural areas have enrolled themselves in the voters’ list. The figure is only marginally less in the urban areas.

These startling facts are revealed in a recent study conducted by the Bihar State Minority Commission. The report also details the worsening plight of Muslims in the state, whose proxy leader and RJD chief Lalu Yadav never tires of projecting himself as a savior of the Muslims.

The report has come handy for Lalu’s detractors, who are desperately trying to make a dent in Lalu’s Muslim-Yadav combine, the backbone of 15 years of the RJD’s uninterrupted rule.

The large participation of Muslims in the electoral process has not brought them corresponding share in political power.