Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar are slated to hold a meeting in New Delhi amid speculation that Kumar would be seeking representation for the Janta Dal (United) in the Union Cabinet in the forthcoming cabinet reshuffle.

The Bihar CM will arrive in Delhi either on Monday evening or on Tuesday morning. Sources from the JD (U) are referring to this as a private visit but Kumar is expected to meet both BJP national president JP Nadda and PM Modi, suggesting that something more important might be in the works.

This development comes in the backdrop of JD (U) national president and MP RCP Singh claiming that his party must get its due representation in the union cabinet as it is a key ally of the BJP.

As of now, Kumar’s party has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha but it had refrained from taking a cabinet berth in 2019 as the BJP and JD (U) were unable to come to a consensus with regards to the number of ministerial positions being offered.

The meeting between the Bihar CM and PM Modi also follows the internal rebellion in the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) that has led to the sidelining of party founder Ramvilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan.

Apparently, junior Paswan was being considered to replace his late father in PM Modi’s cabinet. But, Nitish Kumar swiftly objected to that move upon his refusal to share space with the LJP heir after Chirag’s role in sabotaging JD (U)’s prospects in last year’s Bihar assembly elections, Free Press Journal reports.