Nitish Kumar calls on Naveen Patnaik; Odisha CM denies any alliance talks

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar met his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday amid swirling speculation that the JD(U) stalwart was reaching out to BJD as part of his goal of uniting non-BJP parties before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Naveen said no discussion on forming any alliance was held at the lunch meeting in his home, Naveen Niwas, while Nitish also avoided direct comments on whether they discussed politics.