Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to reach Delhi on Tuesday, may meet PM Narendra Modi

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will reach New Delhi on Tuesday (June 22) on a three-day visit. His visit holds significance, as there are speculations that he might meet PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief JP Nadda, to discuss his party's entry in the Union Cabinet and the recent split in the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).
While confirming the CM’s Delhi visit, JD(U) national spokesperson KC Tyagi told TOI that Nitish would stay at his official residence at 6, K Kamraj Lane during his stay in New Delhi. He would reach Delhi on Tuesday evening and stay till Thursday. But, I am not aware about his detailed itinerary as to whom he will meet during his stay in New Delhi.
However, another senior JD(U) leader and Munger MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said the CM was going to the national capital for his medical check-up. Singh also said it was the CM’s "private visit" and denied media reports about the CM's likely political meetings.
But some NDA leaders said that the Bihar CM might meet the PM and some senior BJP leaders to discuss issues related to expansion of the Union Cabinet and political developments in the LJP, especially the likely entry of LJP MP Pashupati Kumar Paras in the Cabinet.
As PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah recently held a series of parleys with senior BJP and RSS leaders in New Delhi, speculations are rife about possible expansion of the Union Cabinet in next few days. There is a strong buzz in Bihar’s political circles about the likely inclusion of JD(U) members in the Modi cabinet as well as the entry of rebel LJP MP Paras in the Union cabinet.
Sources in the JD(U) said, the party president RCP Singh and Munger MP Lalan Singh would be the party’s first choice for Union ministers, if the BJP offers only two cabinet berths to the party.
But the JD(U) also wants to send one member from the extremely backward castes (EBCs), which are its core voters, to the Union Cabinet. Hence, the JD(U) wants at least three berths in the Modi cabinet during the forthcoming expansion. "If three births are made available to the JD(U), names of senior leaders like Rajya Sabha member Ram Nath Thakur (who is son of former CM Karpoori Thakur) and Jehanabad MP Chandeshwar Prasad may be considered," a senior JD(U) leader said, adding the JD(U) would join the Modi cabinet only when it gets a "respectable representation."
JD(U) national president RCP Singh on Monday said, "CM Nitish Kumar will take a final decision on the names to be included in the Union Cabinet."