BJP leaders from Bihar meet Ram Vilas Paswan

New Delhi, Feb 27:

leaders from Bihar on Thursday met LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan as the two parties apparently moved forward for an alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Shahnawaz Hussain visited Paswan at his Delhi residence.

While informed sources said it was to discuss the alliance, the leaders from both sides called is a casual visit.

"Today we met Paswan, had chai (tea) and mithai (sweets) with him. The rest of what happened, we will tell you later," Prasad told reporters after the meeting. Ram Vilas Pawan's son and head of Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP) parliamentary board Chirag Paswan pitched a similar note.

"We have old relations with the BJP leaders, as we all are from Bihar. They had come for tea," Chirag said. The LJP said on Wednesday it is looking for "alternate allies" and the option for BJP is open.

Ram Vilas Paswan was earlier in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He left the NDA in the wake of the Gujarat riots in 2002.

The LJP was also part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance from 2004 to 2009.

IANS