Bihar CM Nitish Kumar meets PM Modi, talks to Amit Shah, sets off speculation

New Delhi, June 3

A Monday meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the eve of the 2024 Lok Sabha poll results set off speculation around the future of the JD(U) chief.

Nitish, 73, also spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on phone after meeting the Prime Minister.

The Bihar election results on Tuesday will be key to the future of the JD(U) and Nitish, who has a reputation of switching parties and rejoined the NDA fold just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. There was talk about a possible central government role for Nitish when he met the PM though JD(U) leader KC Tyagi rejected this speculation terming the meetings between Nitish and Modi as “courtesy calls”.

Except briefly in between, Nitish has helmed Bihar since 2005 and has been vacillating between the RJD-led Opposition alliance, the Mahagathbandhan and the BJP-led NDA.