Nitish evades queries on Delhi poll outcome;rivals say Bihar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday side-stepped queries on the outcome of assembly polls in Delhi, where the coalition comprising his JD(U),BJP and LJP has been drubbed by the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, with the terse observation the will of the people is supreme.

"Janata maalik hai", uttered Kumar with hands folded above his head and the ghost of a smile playing on his lips as he sauntered past a posse of journalists tossing queries on the sidelines of a function where he unveiled a statue of Sangh ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

The JD(U), of which Kumar is the national president, had contested two assembly segments in Delhi Burari and Sangam VIhar and lost both to AAP by staggering margins.

Although the JD(U) has never been a major player in the national capital, the current elections were significant because it was the first time that the BJP a formidable force in the city chose to take its smaller allies in Bihar along to take on the huge challenge posed by Arvind Kejriwals party, which is less than a decade old.

The tie-up in Delhi had been frowned upon by JD(U) national general secretary Pavan Varma a socialite based in the national capital, who aired his differences in the open and faced the axe.

Similar was the fate of Prashant Kishor whom the Chief Minister had made his partys national vice-president and whose position in the JD(U) had become increasingly untenable on account of his collaboration with Kejriwal in capacity of an election strategist.

An indignant Kishor has threatened to visit Patna after the dust settles on Delhi and unveil his future strategy besides "exposing" Kumar.

Kishor rendered his service to Kejriwal's party in drawing strategy for the Delhi election.

Bihar unit of AAP has indicated that the state would be the next destination of the party.

The partys state unit has said it would contest a large number of seats in the assembly elections later this year and seek to "defeat polarization by focusing on issues like health and education".

The torpid opposition in Bihar, led by Lalu Prasads RJD with the Congress as a major ally, after its dismal performance in Lok Sabha polls is hoping for a burst of vigour