Patna: JD(U) president and former chief minister Nitish Kumar called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday, a day after the BJP suffered a setback in the Bankipur assembly by-election, where Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor wrested the seat from the party.Kumar, now a Rajya Sabha member, was accompanied to the meeting by senior JD(U) functionaries, Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, and the party’s national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha. The meeting took place at the Prime Minister’s office room in Parliament House.Confirming the meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office posted on X: “Rajya Sabha MP Shri @NitishKumar Ji met PM @narendramodi earlier today.”Kumar described the interaction as a courtesy call. It was his first meeting with Modi since entering the Rajya Sabha after stepping down as Bihar chief minister.“During the meeting, there was a meaningful discussion on several important topics related to the development of Bihar, including northeast,” Jha said in a post on X.The meeting came close on the heels of the Bankipur result, significant because the constituency had remained a BJP stronghold for 31 years. The bypoll was required after BJP national president Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha after taking charge as party chief.Kishor, the poll strategist-turned-politician leading Jan Suraaj, defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha by 19,324 votes.Nitish Kumar, a ten-time chief minister, resigned from Bihar’s top post in April. Samrat Choudhary then became the first BJP leader to take over as chief minister. The BJP and JD(U) continue to run the coalition government in Bihar.
