Nitish to attend dinner hosted by PM Modi for outgoing President, likely to meet Sonia, Rahul

Nitish's meeting with Rahul comes days after Sonia spoke to the Bihar CM and to Lalu Prasad in an effort to prevent a collapse of the ruling coalition.

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New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to attend a farewell dinner hosted by PM Narendra Modi for outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday evening as well as the oath taking ceremony of Ram Nath Kovind as new President, which is scheduled for Tuesday. If reports are to be believed, Kumar is also likely to meet Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today at 4 PM, during which he is expected to discuss the present political situation in the state. The JD(U) chief will be in Delhi for four days. 

Talks between Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav last week do not seem to have smoothed the political ripples. Nitish Kumar`s meeting with Rahul Gandhi comes days after Congress President Sonia Gandhi spoke to the Bihar Chief Minister and to RJD chief Lalu Prasad in an effort to prevent a collapse of the ruling coalition.

The JD-U, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal are partners of Bihar`s ruling Grand Alliance, which is in the throes of a political crisis due to the CBI raids on RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav`s premises over an alleged benami land deal. The JD-U, in its efforts to portray a corruption-free image, has demanded that Tejashwi Yadav quit, which has been rejected by the RJD and the Congress. 

(With inputs from agencies)