With proponents and opponents of the proposal failing to arrive at a settlement, the political affairs committee (PAC) of the party did not meet on Monday. The PAC meeting had been extended as the committee had failed to find a solution to the crisis threatening a split in the party at its two-day meeting on Saturday and Sunday.

Though contested by a section, PAC had on Sunday authorised the party president Sharad Yadav to explore the possibilities of enlarging the Janata Parivar by bringing former Dal constituents back under the umbrella of the party.

Though sources close to Sharad Yadav said that PAC meeting had to be postponed as he had not completed consultations with these groups likeSamata, Lok Shakti and Biju Janata Dal though he met their leaders on Monday, there seemed to be little meeting ground between those opposed to having any truck directly or indirectly with NDA and those favouring it.

The first group which included the former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, former party president S R Bommai, Srikant Jena, S Jaipal Reddy and CM Ibrahim met at the residence of Gowda to chalk out its future course of action.

The second group which supports Patel's proposal comprises Ram Vilas Paswan, Kamala Sinha and surprisingly the former Prime Minister I K Gujaral. The group also held a meeting at Karnataka Bhavan. Sharad Yadav was also present. Patel met NDA Convenor and Samata leader George Fernandes after the meeting.

Lok Shakti supremo Ramakrishna Hegde, meanwhile, is scheduled to hold talks with like-minded leaders on Tuesday on the possibilities of floating a new outfit.

The meetings assume significance as Samata leader Nitish Kumar after meeting Sharad on Sunday had toldnewspersons that "something is going to happen in the Janata Dal and something outside tomorrow which will be very significant in the Indian politics."

Paswan told newspersons after the meeting at Karnataka Bhavan that the party could not have any truck with Laloo Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal. Former party general secretary Wasim Ahmed, who was advocating JD-RJD merger, meanwhile, was expelled from the primary membership of the party for anti-party activities.

J D general secretary Bapu Kaldate said that former Rajya Sabha member Ahmed was removed from the general secretaryship on January 1 for not attending the meetings of the central secretariat for one year and not responding to the party communications but issuing press statements during this period. He had also attended RJD rally on June 5 even though he was a JD member.