New Delhi, July 28: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury today met Sharad Yadav, amid indications that the veteran JDU leader may come out openly against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's decision to ally with the BJP.

Azad and Yechury drove to Yadav's residence for talks on a day Nitish, who is also the JDU chief, proved his majority in the Bihar Assembly a day after he was sworn in.

What transpired during the meeting was not immediately clear but sources said the former JDU president and serving party MP is "deeply unhappy" with Nitish's return to the NDA fold.

He was also said to be upset over not being taken into confidence by Nitish before the chief minister decided to resign and align with the BJP.

A JD(U) source said the swiftness with which Nitish sealed the tie-up with the BJP within hours of walking out of the Grand Alliance of the RJD, JDU and the Congress on Wednesday evening showed that it was a "pre-decided deal".

"Sharad Yadav had been working to forge a grand alliance of Opposition parties at the national level," said a leader close to Sharad.

"He feels totally let down by Nitish's move."

Two JDU Rajya Sabha members, Ali Anwar and M.P. Veerendra Kumar, have gone on record against Nitish's decision.

Sharad is the party's leader in the Rajya Sabha where the JDU has 10 MPs.

If Sharad does come out against Nitish, the road ahead for the MP remains unclear.

Sources said he does not have enough support to split the party and the vote in the Bihar Assembly today - in which the JDU-BJP combine won 131 votes in favour with 108 votes against - has shown that the JDU MLAs are firmly behind Nitish.

Several groups of university students met Sharad at his residence today, urging him to not join the NDA and remain part of a "secular" grouping.

Senior BJP leader and Union finance minister Arun Jaitley is also learnt to have spoken to Sharad in a bid to persuade him to continue to be a part of the NDA.

Congress barb

The Congress today scoffed at the moral posturing of chief minister Nitish Kumar, saying he just found an excuse to embrace the BJP.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said: "It is farcical that Nitish Kumar's conscience suddenly instigated him to violate the people's mandate.

It was not conscience; it was collusion between the Prime Minister and the chief minister. Like mobile number portability, Nitish Kumar changes service provider for chief ministership."

Singhvi also defended Tejashwi Yadav, asking how can an FIR prove guilt.

"Has anybody in BJP resigned after filing of FIR? There are charge-sheeted people facing trial, like Uma Bharti, sill in the (Union) cabinet. In Pakistan, where democracy is not as strong, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned because of revelation in Panama papers. But no action against people here; Chhattisgarh chief minister's son's name is there in the Panama papers."