Patna:

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in Patna to take part in the crucial meeting of opposition leaders.

The JDU boss and the Trinamool Congress chief spoke for nearly 15 minutes at the Circuit House.

Ms Banerjee enquired about the health of Mr Kumar, who was taken ill earlier this week resulting in the cancellation of his visit to Chennai and other programmes.

“I express my sincere gratitude to Nitish-ji for taking the time to meet with me in Patna today. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to discuss various matters of mutual interest and concern. I am truly thankful for his willingness to engage in constructive dialogue,” Ms Banerjee said in a Facebook post.

“We had the chance to address several important issues that affect our respective states and the overall development of our nation. Nitish-ji’s leadership and experience have been instrumental in driving progress and addressing the challenges faced by Bihar. I convey my best wishes to him for all his future endeavours,” she added.

Notably, the idea of such a meet to be held in Patna was floated by Ms Banerjee when Mr Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav called on her in Kolkata two months ago.

The Trinamool chief had hailed Mr Kumar’s efforts to bring together leaders opposed to the BJP and invoked the memory of the late Jayaprakash Narayan to assert that Bihar should, once again, take a lead in the fight against the existing regime.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)