Amit Shah meets Bihar Governor after dinner with Nitish

Patna, July 12: BJP national president Amit Shah on Thursday evening called on Bihar Governor Satya Pal Mallik at the Raj Bhavan here, an official release said.

Shah, who was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, state BJP chief Nityanand Rai, the party's national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav and organizational secretary Nagendra ji, made the "courtesy call" immediately after attending a dinner hosted by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his official residence, a stone's throw from the Raj Bhavan.

Meanwhile, state agriculture minister Prem Kumar - one of the BJP leaders who had attended the dinner at Kumar's place, told reporters outside the Chief Minister's house "we (JD(U) and BJP are together and will stay together. There is no question of damage control since there was no damage in the first place".

On his first visit to the state since Nitish Kumar's return to the NDA last year, Shah was accorded a warm welcome by the Chief Minister - who heads the JD(U) and presented with a bouquet.

Prem Kumar said the BJP president and the JD(U) chief talked "in the most congenial atmosphere", but did not elaborate as to whether their conversation centred around politics or the contentious issue of seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

After staying the night at the State Guest House, Shah is scheduled to leave tomorrow morning.

PTI