Patna: BJP ally Nitish Kumar has made a "late courtesy call" to Lalu Prasad nearly a year after the erstwhile partners in power had a bitter parting and at a time the Bihar chief minister's party has been suffering electoral setbacks.

Tejashwi Prasad, the son of Lalu Prasad who is now being treated in Mumbai after getting bail on medical grounds, confirmed the call but sought to put a lid on speculation in the run-up to the general election.

"Nothing but a late courtesy call to enquire abt his health as he underwent fistula operation on Sunday. Surprisingly, NitishJi got to knw abt his ill health after 4months of hospitalisation. I hope he realises he is last politician to enquire following BJP/NDA ministers visiting him," Tejashwi tweeted on Tuesday.

Tejashwi has been asserting that " Chacha Nitish" is not welcome back but RJD sources indicated that a party leader who was a minister in the previous Grand Alliance government is trying to broker peace between Lalu and Nitish.

"It is not going to be easy," said an RJD leader. "There are leaders like Jagadanand Singh and Shivanand Tiwari who do not want anything to do with Nitish. But another realignment will mean the RJD is back in power.... Politicians do make mistakes. Lalu ji is a large-hearted person."

The leader, however, conceded that it would be difficult for even Lalu to overrule Tejashwi on any patch-up.

Earlier this month, when Nitish had tweeted birthday greetings to the RJD boss, Lalu was not amused. " Jab toot ho gaya hai toh tweet kya kar raha hai (When there has been a break, why is he tweeting?)" the RJD chief had told a confidant.

Officially, Lalu's party is still ruling out a reunion. "Tejashwi Yadav has made a categorical statement on the issue and we fully support him," said Shivanand. "Its only after there was trouble in the NDA that Nitish has made the call."

There have been reports of Nitish reaching out to the Congress. But a Congress spokesperson denied the reports.