PM Modi Takes A Step To Keep Nitish Kumar In Good Humour

Patna: Ten months after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP, that meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he had often talked about will finally take place, later this month.

PM Modi met with Nitish Kumar on Wednesday evening at his official home 7 Lok Kalyan Marg and reportedly said he would like a discussion with the chief minister and all his top officials on every issue on May 11 in Patna, before leaving for Janakpur in Nepal.

The Prime Minister will travel to Nepal for a two-day tour. His first stop is Janakpur, where he is expected to visit an ancient temple and there may be a public reception too. The visit is seen as an attempt to reach out to the Madheshi community in the Terai region, who are still upset about the economic blockade in 2015, which left them cut off from essential supplies for weeks.

The PM's meeting with Nitish Kumar is seen by many as long overdue and another step to keep him in good humour as the country nears the 2019 national election.

The chief minister has been facing relentless opposition attacks and criticism since he re-embraced the BJP, an ally he had ended ties with over its decision to elevate Mr Modi as PM candidate. The rivalry and cold war between the two became legendary. But when Nitish Kumar decided to switch sides last July, PM Modi took the unusual step of posting a tweet with praise.
 Nitish Kumar often said he, along with a team of officials, would have a meeting with the Prime Minister and the outcome would be a big boost to the development of Bihar.

The meeting didn't happen for months, and Nitish Kumar was mocked relentlessly by the opposition. The RJD of Lalu Yadav, smarting since it was dumped by the Chief Minister, sneered, "What happened to double engine Sarkar (government?)".

Nitish Kumar's embarrassment worsened when his demand for over Rs 6,000 crore as damages after floods got his state only Rs 1,700 crore from the centre.