The BJP on Monday said no political inference should be drawn from chief minister Nitish Kumar's support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation move, while LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan said he "would welcome Nitish" into the NDA.

"Nitish's support of the demonetisation drive initiated by the Prime Minister is a move against corruption. After all, we too supported prohibition in Bihar," senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said at a time when reports of Nitish's growing proximity to the BJP are doing the rounds.

Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan said that he "would welcome Nitish if he joins the NDA" and it will be a happy occasion for it will strengthen the alliance further. He, however, said any such move would depend on the BJP and what the JDU wants to do.

Differences have surfaced in the ruling alliance over demonetisation, but Nitish calls this a figment of journalists' imagination. However, the RJD and the Congress took out a protest marches against demonetisation while the JDU kept away from it. Nitish has also distanced himself from Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over scrapping of high denomination notes.

"Nitish - with his clean image - partnering with the RJD and Congress is a paradox in itself," said a senior BJP leader who was a minister in the earlier NDA government. "Their alliance is full of stress and the tension is building. It will explode sooner or later... compromises are made even in transfer and posting of senior government officials."

The BJP also said that mere vocal support from Nitish to the demonetisation move won't do and the state government should call meetings with the Reserve Bank of India and State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) to ensure adequate supply of smaller denomination currency notes.

"The state government should ensure existing ATMs and bank branches function properly," Sushil said. He suggested a task force led by chief secretary and regularly monitored by chief minister to coordinate with RBI and SLBC.

"Bihar has around 2.5 crore jan dhan accounts, yet many are still not linked to banks. Special camps should be organised to improve the situation. The number of point of sale (POS) terminals should be increased. These will lessen difficulties faced by the public."

The banking structure in Bihar is poor compared to other big states. There's one bank branch for every 17,000 people, while the national average happens to be one branch for 11,000 people.

Data provided by the finance department says the state has 8,471 panchayats, but till May this year only 3,173 panchayats had bank branches. The plan to set up bank branches in every panchayat is moving at a snail's pace.

The concept of business correspondents (BA) and business correspondent agents (BCA) to extend banking facilities to people in areas without bank branches is yet to function smoothly.

The backwardness of banking structure in the state has added to the difficulties faced by people, especially those living in rural areas, in the wake of demonetisation.