NEW DELHI: Rumors of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar becoming a part of the NDA alliance have intensified. It is reported that Nitish Kumar and JDU have started discussions with BJP leaders regarding this. The BJP leadership has summoned the party president in Bihar to Delhi. JDU leaders say that a decision on returning to NDA may be taken within a week.

Meanwhile, RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav has come to persuade Nitish Kumar. Recently, Nitish Kumar was not in harmony with the INDIA front. He had come out with criticism against the slowness of the Congress in matters related to seat division. Nitish has also reportedly announced that he will stay away from Rahul Gandhi's Jodo Yatra. According to reports, Congress's Shakeel Ahmed Khan invited Nitish to participate in the yatra, but he decided to stay away from the yatra when it reaches Bihar.

Last day, Nitish had thanked the NDA government for deciding to award the Bharat Ratnam to former Bihar Chief Minister, freedom fighter and socialist leader Karpuri Thakur. He said that Modi government has made the things that he demanded from the central government when he came to power in Bihar in 2005 a reality.

Trinamool in Bengal and AAP in Punjab announced that they will contest the Lok Sabha elections alone. They also clarified that there is no alliance with the Congress. Nitish Kumar's return to NDA along with this could be a huge blow to the Congress and INDIA alliance.