Chandy may now attend Nitish's swearing-in

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is most likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday, an aide said.

A close aide of Chandy told IANS that Nitish Kumar first faxed an invite to Chandy.

"Then he personally rang up Chandy and requested for his presence at the swearing-in. Then came numerous calls and requests from various quarters and by now he has more or less decided to be present at the swearing-in," said the aide who did now wish to be identified.

Earlier, it was decided that Chandy will not go and ask state Agriculture Minister K.P. Mohanan to represent the Kerala government.

Another reason that has made Chandy change his mind is that while the Congress was part of the Grand Alliance in its efforts to keep the BJP out in the Bihar state assembly polls, the CPI-M, which is the principal opposition in Kerala, not only did join the Grand Alliance but decided to contest on its own.

Yet another reason for Chandy to be present in Patna is that Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United is an ally of the Chandy government in Kerala.

Chandy is now expected to leave for Patna soon after chairing the weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Among those who would be present at the swearing-in in Patna are West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.