From correspondents in Bihar, India, 12:32 PM IST

The Congress may be projecting Manmohan Singh as the next prime minister but United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partner Lalu Prasad Tuesday said the grouping's prime ministerial candidate would be decided only after the elections in consultation with constituent parties.

'UPA is a confederation of secular parties and does not belong only to the Congress. We will sit together (after the elections) to chalk out a common minimum programme and in consultation with all our partners select the next PM,' Lalu Prasad, head of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, told reporters here.

'Manmohan Singh acche aadmi hain (Manmohan Singh is a nice man),' he added.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)