President K R Narayanan continued his lengthy consultations with political parties and legal experts through the day and lined up more meetings for tomorrow, indicating that he was in no hurry to take the critical decision on Rabri Devi's fate.

The BJP, which exuded quiet confidence yesterday, was in a state of nervous anxiety today as it feared that the uncertainty could drag on for as long as a week while the President studied every aspect of the issue.

Despite the pressures on him from both sides, Narayanan appeared determined to take the approach of a ``diligent scholar'' and is going back into history to compare the Vajpayee Government's invocation of Article 356 with previous cases.

The delay in pushing through its decision for dismissal has frazzled the BJP which is increasingly worried by the quick moves in the Opposition camp to corner the Centre on the Bihar issue. For one, leaders of the Congress, the Left Parties and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha met in the evening and decided to observe September 25 as an All India Protest Day. Condemning the Centre for ``the brazen misuse of Article 356 for partisan political interests'', they also called on the President to convene a special session of Parliament for the sole purpose of discussing Bihar.

With crucial assembly elections due in four states in November, any strengthening of the unity index of the Opposition can only spell trouble for the BJP.

The President's major concern, however, appears to be the legal and constitutional validity of the Centre's recommendation. This has become important as just one day before the Union Cabinet approved Rabri Devi's dismissal, she won a confidence motion in the State Legislature and conclusively established her majority.

Given this backdrop, the President would have to thoroughly satisfy himself on whether there is indeed the ``constitutional breakdown'' in Bihar reported by the Governor.

He is also believed to have asked for comparative information on the law and order situation in other states to judge for himself the extent of lawlessness claimed in Bihar.

Another point of concern is whether the Presidential proclamation slapping Article 356 on Bihar would be ratified by Parliament where the ruling coalition is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha. The proclamation has to be ratified within two months even if the assembly is dissolved and elections announced in the meantime.

Political circles feel that the Bihar Assembly has been placed in ``suspended animation'' to blunt the political case the RJD may choose to file in the Supreme Court. Recommending immediate dissolution, as demanded by the Samata Party, may have prompted judicial intervention which could prove embarrassing for the Centre. The BJP thus appears to have decided to take it step by step.

Meanwhile, today, leaders of the RLM, the Left Parties and the Janata Dal met the President separately and urged him to reject the Union Cabinet's recommendation to dismiss the RJD government. RLM leaders Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav, who were the first to meet the President this morning along with a delegation of forum MPs, told him that the decision of the Union cabinet for suspension of the assembly was highly unwarranted and malafide and was nothing but a result of political vendetta.

In a two-page memorandum submitted to the President, the RLM leaders also urged him to recall Bihar Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari, as he had lost all right to continue in his post. A detailed annexure containing the crime statistics of various states was attached to this memorandum to buttress their argument that things were, after all, not all that bad in the state.

The Left parties are understood to have emphasised to the President that the BJP-led Government had no majority in Parliament and many of its allies including the MDMK, Lok Shakti and the Akali Dal were opposed to the use of Article 356 to dismiss a state government.

Tomorrow, the President is scheduled to meet JD leader Ram Vilas Paswan, who is not with the rest of his party on the Bihar issue, and Buta Singh.