Cong leader attends Sankranti feast hosted by JD(U) president

Rebel Congress leader Ashok Choudhary today caused ripples in political circles here when attended a feast hosted by Bihar JD(U) president Bashishtha Narayan Singh, a day after he was conspicuous by his absence at a meeting of legislators belonging to his party.
Talking to reporters at the residence of Singh, Choudhary, a former president of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee said "I have been close to Dada (Singh) for long and I have come here because of our personal relationship. A political colour ought not to be given to everything".
However, in reply to a query on future political scenario, Choudhary who was accompanied by two other Congress MLAs Dilip Choudhary and Munna Tiwari - cryptically remarked "there are no full stops in politics".

Choudhary was a minister in the Grand Alliance government which consisted of the JD(U), the RJD and the Congress and is known to be close to chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Congress faction close to Lalu Prasad's RJD has been accusing Choudhary of trying to split the party with the help of his supporters, which led to his removal as the state unit chief a few months ago.
Yesterday at a meeting convened by Congress Legislature Party leader Sadanand Singh, Choudhary was conspicuous by his absence though his close aides maintained that it was because he was out of station and returned to Patna only late in the night.

However, party sources also claimed that besides Choudhary nearly a dozen other legislators uncomfortable with the Congress' unflinching support to RJD in the aftermath of Lalu Prasad's conviction in the fodder scam skipped the meeting.

Meanwhile, the day witnessed feasts of "chura" (flattened rice) "dahi" (curd) and "tilkut" (sweet made of sesame mixed with jaggery) organised by various constituents of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
The chief minister attended the one hosted by his party's state president before heading for the Lok Janshakti Party Office where he was received by Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and LJP Parliamentary Board chief Chirag Paswan.

The feast hosted by Paswan was also attended by senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha.
The chief minister also attended another feast organized by BJP MLC Rajnish.