NEW DELHI, OCT 11: The Janata Dal (United), which finds itself in a bind over the selection of its nominees for the Union Cabinet, deferred till Tuesday a decision on the matter.The newly-elected MPs of the party met over lunch at Defence Minister George Fernandes' official residence at 3, Krishna Menon Marg. Among those present on the occasion were Ramakrishna Hegde, Sharad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan and Nitish Kumar, besides the Defence Minister himself.George and Yadav later met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Monday, and are learnt to have sought his directions on matter. But the latter is said to be reluctant to intervene, and has left the matter entirely to them.The meeting of the newly-elected MPs, surprisingly, ducked the controversial issue of zeroing in on the names of the MPs who would be made ministers in the Vajpayee government. It, instead, focussed on organisational matters. ``We discussed ways to strengthen our party's organisation in Bihar to take on Laloo Prasad Yadav'sRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the forthcoming assembly elections,'' said a senior leader who was present in the meeting, ``We have decided to hold rallies at the block and district levels, which will culminate in a huge `vote-bachao rally' at Patna on November 15.''In the meeting it was officially decided that the demand for the imposition of President's rule in Bihar would be given up, as the days of the Rabri Devi government in Bihar were in any case numbered. It was also decided that Paswan would meet Home Minister L K Advani with a list of complaints about Bihar.Asked whether the claims of the ministerial aspirants were taken into consideration, he replied in the negative. ``We have left the matter entirely into the hands of George, who has also been appointed the JD (U) parliamentary party leader. He will decide the names in consultation with the other senior leaders,'' he pointed out.But George's travails on the count seem to have lessened with former railways minister Nitish Kumar opting outof the fray. ``I don't want to join the government,'' he categorically told reporters after the meeting. He was made the party's Bihar unit's convenor, perhaps with an eye on the forthcoming assembly elections.
