A day after Bankipur shock and Datia setback PM meets former CMs of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held separate meetings with JDU supremo Nitish Kumar and Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a day after BJP suffered a major setback in the Bankipur bypoll and faced embarrassment in Madhya Pradesh where Congress retained the Datia assembly seat amid a candidate-selection row.

Kumar, who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha, met Modi in Parliament House, perhaps his first meeting with the PM after entering the Upper House. He was accompanied by Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh and JDU national working president Sanjay Jha. The PMO posted on X that Kumar met Modi, which the JDU leader termed a courtesy call. However, sources said the two leaders discussed Bihar's development, governance and the prevailing socio-political situation. The meeting came a day after BJP lost the Bankipur seat in Patna, ending its nearly three-decade hold over a constituency regarded as the pocket borough of BJP chief Nitin Nabin.

Modi also met former MP CM Chouhan. Congress retained Datia, with its candidate Ghanshyam Singh defeating BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes. The bypoll had turned into a prestige battle after BJP denied ticket to former state minister Narottam Mishra and instead fielded Tiwari, a leader with an RSS background. The result was seen within BJP as a setback to its candidate-selection strategy and organisational management in the Gwalior-Chambal region. While there was no official word on the agenda of the Modi-Chouhan meeting, sources said political and organisational issues were discussed.