Patna, Nov 7 (IANS): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Wednesday said that chief ministership would be decided on the basis of votes polled, not on the basis of caste identity.
"I am announcing that a leader from any caste or community could become chief minister of Bihar if his party wins power," Lalu Prasad said at Katihar during his "Parivartan Yatra" (rally for change).
Lalu Prasad said the people of Bihar would elect the next chief minister, and that if the RJD returned to power, caste would not be a consideration when it came to choosing the chief minister.
Lalu Prasad also reiterated that he had never claimed in the past that no leader from the upper castes could become the chief minister of the state. Lalu dismissed such talk as "propaganda to defame".
Lalu Prasad said that youths would be given 50 percent of the tickets in the elections, including for the Lok Sabha in 2014 and the Bihar assembly in 2015.
Lalu Prasad is frequently described as a casteist leader by political rivals within the state as well as outside it.