PATNA, Jan. 16 -- Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday joined senior NDA leaders at a traditional dahi-chura (curd and flattened rice) feast hosted by Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan at the party's state office on 1, Wheeler Road here on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. BJP working president Nitin Nabin, Union minister Nityanand Rai, deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary, and state ministers Mangal Pandey, Ram Kripal Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary were among the prominent leaders present. Several NDA MPs and MLAs also attended the gathering. Calling Makar Sankranti a festival of warmth and togetherness, Paswan said it symbolises happiness and prosperity. "Bihar is moving towards prosperity. The idea behind this gathering is to forget political differences for a while and share some beautiful moments together," he told reporters. Paswan declined to comment on speculation about Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) founder Tej Pratap Yadav joining the NDA, saying political developments should be discussed only after they are formally finalised. On Tej Pratap's claim that he could not reach Paswan to invite him to a feast, the Hajipur MP said he may have missed the call due to pressing engagements but added that he shared an affectionate bond with him. Responding to questions on RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's absence from his elder brother's feast, Paswan termed it a family matter and said the presence of the family patriarch, Lalu Prasad, should be considered sufficient. He also described speculation about former Union minister RCP Singh's possible return to the JD(U) as an internal issue of the party. LJP(RV) chief spokesperson Rajesh Bhatt said party's state president Raju Tiwari, acting state president Ashraf Ansari, chairman of the SC-ST Commission Dhananjay Mrinal, and party MLAs were also among those who joined the feast. Later in the day, Nitish Kumar also attended another dahi-chura feast hosted by JD(U) MLA Chetan Anand. Meanwhile, former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) chief Pashupati Kumar Paras organised a similar Makar Sankranti function at his party's state office in Patna, with several leaders in attendance. Quoting Paras, party chief spokesperson Lalan Chandravanshi said the state had been witnessing political churn over the past month....