Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday met senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani and congratulated him for Bharat Ratna. Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday in what was their first meeting after the Janata Dal (United) president dumped the opposition INDIA bloc and joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last month and later reiterated that he will not leave it again.
After meeting the nonagenarian, Nitish Kumar said, "I have an old relation with him (LK Advani). I had congratulated him when it (Bharat Ratna) was announced. I am happy to meet him today."
Nitish Kumar also met Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda and is believed to have discussed a host of governance and political issues related to Bihar. Kumar had taken the oath along with eight ministers, including three each from the BJP and the JD(U), and an expansion of the council of ministers is on the cards. Both parties have to deal with a number of tricky political issues ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, including the distribution of parliamentary seats for contesting the election among them and their smaller allies. The BJP and the JD(U) contested 17 seats each in Bihar during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls while the then Lok Janshakti Party, now divided into two factions, contested on six. The NDA now also includes former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that BJP stalwart and former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award. The Bharat Ratna will be bestowed on Advani in a year of the Ram temple's consecration, which marks a triumphant closure for the BJP of an issue which was thrust into popular consciousness by the veteran leader through his 'Ram Rath Yatra' in 1990.
