Rahul Gandhi Dials Nitish Kumar Amid Reports About INDIA Bloc Rift

Details are scarce but sources suggest Mr Gandhi and Mr Kumar spoke about the fallout of Wednesday's INDIA meet, at which Mallikarjun Kharge was proposed as a PM candidate.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Thursday evening, amid talk of yet more rifts in the INDIA bloc ahead of next year's general election. Details of the conversation are unavailable at present but there is speculation the two spoke on the fallout of Wednesday's meeting, at which the Janata Dal (United) boss - widely seen as the prime mover behind INDIA - was overlooked in discussions on a possible convener for the group and/or prime ministerial candidate.

In fact, sources told NDTV Nitish Kumar clashed with INDIA leaders on several issues, including renaming the bloc as 'Bharat'. That proposal was swiftly nixed by the Congress' Sonia Gandhi. He reportedly also got angry with Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a state ally, because Mr Jha translated his speech from Hindi to Tamil for the benefit of political leaders from the DMK.

There was also talk Nitish Kumar lashed out at the Congress after its dismal performance in November's Assembly polls, which were widely seen as a dry run of INDIA's pull with voters. The Congress was routed in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan - heartland states that INDIA must win (at least some anyway) in order to defeat the BJP - after seat-sharing squabbles with allies.