Laddoos (a party perennial) were being distributed in the BJP headquarters in New Delhi when TV channels flashed the news of JD-U chief Nitish Kumar supporting the NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind for the Presidential polls.

But insiders in the BJP say that on the day Kovind's name was announced during the BJP parliamentary board meeting, BJP Chief Amit Shah called Kovind and hinted that he should send feelers to Nitish Kumar asking for his endorsement.

Subsequently, Arun Jaitley (part of the three-member committee to seek consensus for the presidential polls) spoke to Nitish Kumar.


Since that day, there was speculation in the BJP top leadership, that Nitish Kumar had fallen in line. The speculation is now fact.


So, the breaking news, while not exactly a surprise, was certainly a relief to top leaders of the BJP including Narendra Modi.


Grapevine also suggests that after August 2017, it will be difficult for two state governments to continue. After the presidential elections, the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu and and JD-U government in Bihar may not survive.


Now that Nitish's support has been covered, political watchers say there may be a rift between the JD-U and it's ally in Bihar, the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led RJD and it may even be difficult for Nitish to continue as Chief Minister of Bihar.

If Lalu does try to topple Nitish, the BJP's support may come in handy. And so, is a JDU-BJP combine the future for Bihar?

These are the questions doing the rounds in the BJP's national headquarters.