Political circles in Bihar were once again abuzz with speculation of a churn on Tuesday with Lalu Prasad’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti asserting that their doors were open for Nitish Kumar and the chief minister’s alleged “insult” by ally Chirag Paswan.

On the occasion of Makar Sankranti, Misa, the RJD MP from Patliputra, said Nitish was like a brother to Lalu and there was nothing called impossible in politics.

“They (Lalu and Nitish) have a relationship like brothers. Nitishji is a member of our family. He is like our guardian. So where is the need to invite him? The doors of Rabri Devi’s residence are always open for him. He can come on his own,” Misa told reporters.

Nitish had attended the Makar Sankranti feast at Lalu’s residence last year and switched from the Mahagathbandhan to the NDA within two weeks.

“Whenever there is any auspicious occasion, members of the family are not called. They come on their own. There is nothing impossible in politics. It will be too early to say anything about the kind of talks doing the rounds, especially in the media and on social media. Please have some patience,” Misa said.

She said political actions would gather pace as the one-month period considered inauspicious by many had come to an end with Makar Sankranti.

Earlier, Lalu had made overtures to Nitish, saying that his doors were open for the JDU leader if he chose to come to the Mahagathbandhan fold. His younger son and leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had later appeared to contest the statement.

Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) added to the churn rumour by staying away from a Makar Sankranti feast at the party office where he had invited Nitish. Nitish attended the event but returned without eating, sparking a discussion on whether it was a faux pas or the chief minister was deliberately ignored or insulted.

Nitish offered tribute to Chirag’s father and former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, spent around 10 minutes chatting with some LJP (Ram Vilas) leaders and left when Chirag failed to turn up.

“I was doing puja when I got the news of Nitishji’s arrival. It was not possible for me to reach there quickly,” Chirag later said.

A senior JDU leader said the incident had not gone down well with anybody in the party. “You invite the chief minister and stay absent on the occasion. It is like an insult. This is unpardonable and reflects poorly on the host,” he said.