Leaders of the new 'Janata Parivar' at a meeting in Delhi. (PTI Photo)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Saturday that there was no "cloud of uncertainty" over the merger of old Janata Parivar splinter groups and that it was on track.
"The merger vehicle of Janata Parivar is on track and the vehicle is on the run," Mr Kumar told reporters after a conclave on skill development in Patna.
"I think the merger will not take much time," he said.
"The date of the next meeting regarding the merger will be decided soon in which everything will become clear," Mr Kumar said.
Mr Kumar, during his recent stay in Delhi, had met Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has been authorised to decide modalities for the merger of the Janata Parivar. RJD chief Lalu Prasad and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala are in a bid to speed up the process.
"On March 27, I, Lalu Prasad, Sharad Yadav, and Mulayam Singh Yadav held detailed talks on merger issue," Mr Kumar, who is playing a significant role in the amalgam exercise, said.
The coming together of splinter parties of the old Janata Parivar before Assembly poll in Bihar later this year would be a decisive factor to give BJP a strong challenge.
Asked about infighting within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Mr Kumar, who had a lucheon meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday, exuded confidence that things would be sorted out mutually by them.
On a question on his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Kumar said he had a talk with the Prime Minister on needs for development of the state.
"The discussion was good. The Prime Minister heard everything and promised to look into them," said Mr Kumar.
Mr Kumar said he acquainted the Prime Minister with the "loss" that Bihar would accrue due to recommendations of 14th Finance Commission and demanded to compensate it.
Mr Kumar also said that he put forward the demand for giving special category status to Bihar to spur its industrial growth.
The chief minister of Bihar said he requested the Prime Minister to make special financial assistance available to Bihar at the earliest.