Wednesday, November 23 2005 14:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Bihar's would-be Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today (Nov 23,2005) met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before leaving for Patna, where he will meet Governor Buta Singh in the evening to stake claim to form the new Government.

Describing his meeting, which took place in the Prime Minister's office in Parliament House, as a 'courtesy call', Kumar said Singh assured him of the Center's full cooperation.

The senior Janata Dal (JD) United (U) leader said he told the Prime Minister that he would meet him after taking over the reins of the state to discuss in detail various development issues.

The Prime Minister had yesterday telephoned Kumar to congratulate him on the JD (U)- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine's electoral victory in Bihar and assured him of the Centre's support to the state.