Patna,(BiharTimes): Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s three-day visit to the national capital––first after winning the Assembly election––was actually made to test the political water in Delhi, rather than just attend the marriage ceremony of Union finance minister Arun Jaitley’s daughter on Wednesday night.

On the following morning he called on prime minister Narendra Modi at his office in Parliament and later told newsmen that Janata Dal (United) has been supporting the GST ever since the UPA days. But that was not all, the fact is that he met many non-BJP leaders who matter.

As the chief minister of the second most populated state of the country he knows that he can not afford to work with the prime minister without removing the bitterness caused during the recent election campaign.

However, he went on to add that people’s mandate is given to any party to work and not to harass people. He said so while referring to the Congress allegation of political vendetta in the National Herald case.

On Wednesday he met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and wished her on her birthday. 

At Jaitley’s function he also met Vice President Hamid Ansari, noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani and Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav.

Thursday was quite busy. After one to one with prime minister he went to the Central Hall of Parliament to meet MPs cutting across the party lines. A day earlier West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee did the same. The purpose of both the leaders was same: to gauge the mood in the corridors of power.

Later in the day he called on President Pranab Mukherjee, met Congress vice president, Rahul Gandhi and went to attend the high-profile function organized on the eve of the 75th birthday of Nationalist Congress Party chief, Sharad Pawar.

President, Vice President, PM, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and chief ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra Parkash Singh Badal, Vasundhara Raje and Devendra Fadnavis were also present on the occasion.

Incidentally, the NCP leader attended the swearing in ceremony of Nitish Kumar in Patna on November 20 notwithstanding the fact that his party contested election in Bihar separately.

Others whom Nitish met in Delhi included the CPI (M) leader, Sitaram Yechuary, and Asom Gana Parishad president, Prafulla Mahanta. As Assembly elections are due both in West Bengal and Assam Nitish’s meetings with these two leaders are very significant.

Political observers are of the view that Nitish has started working on his plan to form an anti-BJP front.

Only the other day West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had already hinted that her party Trinamool Congress has a sort of relationship with the Janata Dal (United).

The saffron partyleadership has been watching all these developments ever since the top brass of many non-BJP parties attended the November 20 swearing in ceremony of Nitish Kumar and his cabinet.
Since Nitish is not in a hurry––as the Lok Sabha election is in 2019––he is busy supporting the non-BJP parties in different states to tighten the noose around the saffron brigade.

The only problem with him and his partners RJD leader Lalu Prasad and Congress party is in tackling the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. Whether JD(U) and RJD would back Mayawati to settle the score with Samajwadi Party or go back to take Mulayam Singh Yadav in their fold remains to be seen. UP is going to poll in 2017.