Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday left for a nearly week-long vacation, during which he will spend a few days abroad, sources close to him, said.

The Janata Dal-United president, who excused himself from attending a rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in West Champaran district, boarded his Delhi flight in the evening.

Kumar, accompanied by former cabinet colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, is likely to leave for the United Kingdom on Thursday.

According to sources, the longest-serving chief minister of Bihar, who is an engineer by training, had been planning to visit a science museum in the UK for quite some time.

He is likely to return only next week and speculation is rife that the JD-U supremo, whose recent return to the National Democratic Alliance took all by surprise, may also meet Bharatiya Janata Party top brass for discussion on seat-sharing, with Lok Sabha polls round the corner.   -- PTI