Arun Jaitley, Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary and in-charge of Bihar elections, said the National Democratic Alliance, will meet at the BJP headquarters here on Sunday evening to discuss government formation in Bihar.

Jaitley told rediff.com the BJP/Janata Dal-United combine had fallen short of expectations in Bihar, but it was content with the performance to the extent that it ousted the Rashtriya Janata Dal government.

"We are analysing the results in a realistic mould. The NDA has come to the center-stage of Bihar politics. We will probably be the largest political alliance. We have removed the RJD from power. To that extent we are satisfied. The satisfaction would have been higher if we had got a few more seats and moved closer to the halfway mark," he said.

On whether the party would invite Ramvilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party to join hands, Jaitley said they were issues of strategy and any decision on the political alliance would be taken by the parliamentary board meeting at the party headquarters at 5 pm on Sunday.

"We will need consultations with our partners. These are not matters for which we can give a categorical answer for the media's benefit," he added.

When told that colleague Ravi Shankar Prasad, former minister of information and broadcasting and senior leader of Bihar, had said all those who had fought against the RJD should come together, Jaitley said it was a genuine and pious hope.
''The mandate is against the RJD. Therefore, no effort should be made to bring the RJD back to power through the backdoor. If it happens, it will hijack the mandate.

Prasad told rediff.com that as far as the NDA was concerned, he had offered the chief ministership of Bihar to Paswan and it was up to him to make up his mind.