Patna: Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi met RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday. The meeting is being seen as a major political development for Bihar as the two parties are inching towards a grand merger.

Mr Manjhi, however, said that he met Lalu out of a goodwill gesture and wished him a happy New Year and good health as he had been ill in 2014 and went through a major surgery.

The meeting turned out to be a major political event with the two leaders discussing ways to tackle the growing popularity of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We have a very big challenge ahead of us in 2015, we need to stop the BJP from fooling people by laying traps to enforce their divisive agenda,” chief minister Manjhi said on Thursday while meeting Lalu Yadav.

With election due this year, the merger process seems to be accelerating between the two parties. By the end of this month the merger is likely to be announced.

“Three major regional parties will become one party and being a party worker it is my duty to strengthen it. With leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav sharing one platform, we will be able to easily reduce the BJP to zero in Bihar,” Jitan Ram Manjhi said.

Lalu Prasad Yadav is planning to tour Bihar once he is through with his younger daughter’s marriage with Mulayam Singh Yadav’s grand nephew.

“I will tour Bihar myself and expose the hidden agenda of BJP,” Lalu said. Lalu slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to change the name of Yojana Aayog.

“Their plan is very clear. If Modi has his way, he will even change our national flag. They (BJP) want to divide the nation. We will expose the BJP and this our sole agenda,” RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said.