Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal-Secular President Sharad Yadav address the media from Patna after the former met with the governor and announced his decision to split with the BJP.

Yadav said, "Our alliance with the BJP was for 17 years and we faced a lot of ups and downs. We have always tried to work for the benefit of the NDA. But in the past six or seven months, the turn of events have been disturbing."

"The JD-U and BJP alliance has put up a good show in Bihar as well. We had warned that we will be forced to leave even before the Goa meet. We are not concerned with who the BJP makes a leader," he said.

"Nitish and I tried our best to keep our alliance intact. The alliance is not the same as it was during the time of Advani, Vajpayee era. And hence we have decided to end the alliance with the BJP. We can't compromise on our basic values. Now, it is a matter of principle and to trust them has become difficult," he said.

Yadav has also announced his decision to step down as convenor of the NDA.