New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi amid reports that he expects a slot in the Union Cabinet for his party.
The Janata Dal United (JDU) stayed out of the Cabinet when PM Modi began his second term in 2019 over a disagreement over Nitish Kumar's expectation and what the BJP was willing to concede to its allies.
Kumar is likely to arrive in Delhi this evening or tomorrow morning. JDU sources call it a private visit, but speculation suggests more at a time PM Modi's cabinet expansion is in the works.
There are reports that Kumar will meet with both PM Modi and BJP president JP Nadda. Recently, JDU leader RCP Singh had said that the party should be given its due representation in the cabinet as an important ally of the BJP.
The JDU has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Its reported role in the split in Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is also linked to the promise of a cabinet post.
Chirag Paswan's uncle Pashupati Paras, who led a coup in the LJP and established himself as its new chief, announced on Thursday that he's set to join the union government soon. "When I take oath as a union minister, I will resign as leader of the parliamentary party", the 71-year-old Bihar politician told reporters.
The surprise announcement, for many, was proof of the role played by Nitish Kumar and the BJP in the LJP split.
Sources say when there was a vacancy in the central government Chirag Paswan was considered as a replacement for his father and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who died in office last year.
Nitish Kumar's firm refusal blocked that move, sources say; he refused to accept the BJP's ties with Chirag Paswan after the 38-year-old MP relentlessly targeted him during the Bihar election
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
