There has been some damage control between the RJD and the Congress after their heated war or words on Tuesday.

Last night Pranab Mukherjee said it would be difficult for Lalu to be part of a future UPA government, reacting to Lalu's U-turn on Manmohan Singh as PM.

Soon after that Lalu spoke on the phone to Pranab Mukherjee. According to sources, he asked whether his party has been thrown out of the UPA.

Mukherjee assured that he is very much a part of the UPA government.

On Tuesday, giving a new twist to the prime ministerial race, the RJD chief said that Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister could not be taken for granted and UPA constituents will sit together after the elections to choose their nominee for the top post.

The Railway Minister, who all along has maintained that Manmohan Singh was the UPA candidate, on Tuesday sang a different tune against the backdrop of his party RJD and the Congress going their own ways to fight the elections in Bihar.

"UPA is a confederation of secular parties and does not belong only to the Congress. We will sit together (after the elections are over) to chalk out a common minimum programme and in consultation with all our partners select a leader who will be the prime minister," Prasad said.

"The UPA will form its government and there is no doubt about it. But, indeed, the people in the state Congress leadership misled Sonia Gandhi about their strength as a result of which the party fielded candidates in so many places against us.

These people will not be able to show their faces to the Congress president after the elections," he said.