Nitish Kumar and Putul Singh. Telegraph pictures

Patna, Dec. 14: Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Seva Yatra in Banka is likely to reflect the increasing bonhomie between him and the family of late Digvijay Singh, who revolted against the JD(U) and won in 2009 Lok Sabha elections as an Independent candidate.

Nitish is learnt to have agreed to join Putul Singh, Digvijay’s widow and Banka MP, on tea and snacks on December 16. The gesture is being seen as an effort from both the sides to bridge the rift, as Digvijay was at loggerheads with the chief minister till the former died in London in June last year.

The chief minister has reportedly asked his cadres and Digvijay’s family members to ensure that the Seva Yatra — primarily a government’s programme to inspect and review how the public services are being rendered — did not look like a political event in Banka. The tea party with Putul and family should strictly be kept a private affair rather than a political feast, the chief minister is believed to have said.

Instead of returning to Patna, Nitish decided to make a night halt at Bhagalpur today after the conclusion of his Seva Yatra in Saharsa and proceed to Banka, barely 30km away, tomorrow. Sources close to the chief minister said he decided to start for Banka straightaway because of inclement weather and foggy conditions that might prevent his chopper from flying on right time.

The inclement weather impeded Nitish’s Seva Yatra for the first time on Monday. His chopper was delayed by three hours on its journey to Baluaha Ghat on Monday.

Tucked away on the state’s south-eastern end, Banka stayed under the control of Digvijay — the defiant scion of the Giddhaur estate. Denied a JD(U) ticket, Digvijay quit his Rajya Sabha seat and jumped into the Lok Sabha poll fray in 2009 from Banka and won it.

After Digvijay’s premature death in London, the JD(U) rivals — primarily the RJD and the Congress — tried hard to rope in the bereaved family in their fold. But Nitish appears to have the last laugh with Putul virtually rejecting the other parties’ overtures though she contested as an Independent and won in 2010. The JD(U) had supported her.

Several family members of Putul, including her brother-in-law Tripurari Singh, have joined the JD(U). “She (Putul) has not joined the JD(U) for technical reasons. She is an Independent MP. For all practical purposes, however, we are in the JD(U),” Tripurari told The Telegraph, confirming the chief minister’s programme to have tea and snacks with late Digvijay’s family members and well-wishers at their home.