Patna, Jun 6 (IANS): With the JD-U led by Nitish Kumar proving to be a crucial ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after winning 12 Lok Sabha seats in the just-concluded elections, party leaders started gathering at the Bihar CM's residence in the national capital on Thursday to chart the next course of action.

Big leaders of the party, including Sanjay Jha, Lalan Singh, Ramnath Thakur, K.C. Tyagi, Khiru Mahato, Alok Kumar Suman, Ashok Chaudhary, and Mahabali Singh, met the Chief Minister on Thursday and congratulated him for JD-U's impressive election results.

Sources said they also discussed the party's strategy for the Cabinet formation of the NDA government at the Centre.

Of the 12 JD-U MPs, some have already reached the national capital, while the others are expected to reach there by Thursday evening.

With the BJP falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha, sources said its allies in the NDA, particularly coalition politics veterans Nitish Kumar and N. Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP, have reportedly started bargaining hard for crucial ministries at the Centre.

While no official word on what they have demanded is out yet, the sources said that hectic negotiations are on at the moment.