Advani quitting not good for NDA: JD-U

After senior BJP leader L.K. Advani quit all party posts Monday, the JD-U described the development as a sad one which would adversely impact the NDA and a leader indicated that there was an unease in the party over the issue.

"It is sad... not good for NDA's health," Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief Sharad Yadav, who is also convenor of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), told news channel NDTV.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the JD-U are constituents of the coalition that projected a united front in the last two general elections of 2004 and 2009. With 20 Lok Sabha seats, the JD-U is the BJP's biggest partner in the NDA.

The JD-U and the BJP also run a coalition government in Bihar.

JD-U leader K.C. Tyagi indicated the unease within the party over Advani quitting all BJP posts.

"It is tough for us to remain a part of the NDA now that the BJP's tallest leader is gone," said Tyagi.

"It will be difficult to deal with new members if founding members are gone," he said.

JD-U leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is averse to Modi becoming the BJP's prime ministerial nominee for the 2014 polls and has said in the past that a person with a secular image should instead be named as the party's candidate for the top post.