Lalu Prasad RJD president on Friday conceded defeat in the crucial Bihar Legislative Council poll but said the result would not have any impact on the assembly elections scheduled later this year. "The results have not been as good as they should have been. I am not going to elaborate on what kind of tactics our opposition parties employed and how people were forced, compelled to vote for them. We accept the mandate," Lalu told media. Asserting that the results will not have any effect on the assembly elections, he said the council poll do not have any involvement of the masses and hence it cannot be compared to the assembly election. "The masses were not involved in the council election. The voters were members of local bodies like mukhiyas and councillors. Hence the result will not have any impact in the assembly elections in which the masses will vote," he said. Prasad, who had maintained throughout that the 'secular' alliance would sweep the Council polls, said division of votes among the 'secular' alliance partners could have been a factor behind losing some of the seats which his party had contested. "We lost some seats like Siwan, Gopalganj and Saran with narrow margin. Division of our votes could have been a factor behind losing at these places," he said.
