New Delhi: On Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met with BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani, congratulating him on receiving India’s highest civilian distinction, the Bharat Ratna.
On his first trip to Delhi following his breakup with the opposition INDIA alliance and his return to the BJP-led NDA, Nitish Kumar had meetings with J P Nadda, the president of the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday.
Despite several rifts in his relationship with the BJP since 2013, the president of the Janata Dal (United) has always held Advani in high regard and has often talked nostalgically about his friendship with him and former prime minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee.
Being a prominent figure in his party during the 1990s, Advani played a crucial role in uniting the BJP around Kumar, establishing the Bihar leader as the face of their alliance against the then-dominant RJD leader Lalu Prasad, who ruled the state for 15 years with his wife Rabri Devi.
The central government gave Advani, who is 96 years old, the Bharat Ratna Award last week.