india

Updated: May 28, 2015 08:38 IST

Amid the growing rift between the ruling Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal over the chief ministerial post, RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday said he was not in the race for the CM’s post in Bihar due to his conviction.

“I am not in the race for CM’s post. How can I be? I am a convicted person. Our main focus should be to forge unity of all secular parties so that we can defeat the BJP,” Prasad said, adding that all reports of former chief minister Rabri Devi likely to be propped as a CM candidate were malicious.

“Nobody in our family is interested in the top post,” he said. But on a query on whether he would join the race for CM’s post, if acquitted in the fodder scam, Prasad said he will. “Yes, I will be definitely be in race for CM’s post and even a bigger post (PM candidate), if I am acquitted. Why will I not become the CM?” he asked.

Prasad added, “I have full faith in the judiciary and hope to be acquitted by the Jharkhand high court or Supreme court in days to come,” even as he rebutted reports of RJD cosying up to the BJP to wrangle some reprieve, following Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalitha’ acquittal in the DA case. “That is all baseless,” he said.

The RJD chief’s wavering stand on the contentious issue of projecting the CM candidate of the Janata Parivar ( RJD- JD(U) combine) is seen as the biggest obstacle in the alliance ahead of the Bihar polls. The RJD’s demand to contest 145 seats has been ourightly rejected by the JD(U) brass , which feels it is totally ‘illogical’.