PATNA, July 8 -- Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary has convened a meeting of NDA leaders, ministers and district and state presidents of the alliance's five constituent parties at Lok Sewak Awas on July 10 to review the government's performance, strengthen coordination and gather grassroots feedback ahead of key political engagements. Former chief minister Nitish Kumar is also expected to attend the meeting. JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha said the interaction would provide direct feedback from district-level leaders on the functioning of the government and help improve coordination among NDA partners. He said discussions would also focus on the government's commitment to delivering on its promises, including creating one crore jobs and accelerating investment in the state. Calling it the first such meeting under Choudhary's leadership, BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi said the initiative would enable district leaders to directly share their views with the chief minister. Saraogi, however, did not spell out the agenda of the meeting. "There are no issues. If there is any, it will be placed at the meeting," he said. LJP (Ram Vilas) state president Raju Tiwari said Union minister and party chief Chirag Paswan is expected to attend. Even as senior leaders were guarded in their comments, the meeting assumes significance against the backdrop of discordant notes among NDA leaders in light of the alleged killing of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari, in an encounter in Bhojpur district on June 17, triggering a major political controversy in Bihar. Tiwari's family alleged that he had surrendered and accused the police of staging a fake encounter, while the police maintained that Tiwari opened fire on its raiding team, prompting retaliatory action. The episode became politically sensitive because NDA leaders adopted markedly different positions instead of presenting a unified front. While the CM did not publicly endorse the police action outright, Chirag Paswan took the strongest stand, describing the incident as a "murder in the name of a police encounter". After meeting Tiwari's family, Paswan demanded the arrest of accused policemen and said he had raised the issue with Union home minister Amit Shah. Union minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi took a position sharply at odds with that of Chirag Paswan. Manjhi defended the police action as "absolutely correct" and "taken in self-defence". According to him, had the police not fired, the policemen themselves could have been killed. The contrasting positions exposed a visible rift within the NDA. Two senior JD(U) ministers struck a noticeably different tone from some NDA allies. Ashok Choudhary, Bihar's food and consumer protection minister, termed the encounter "wrong" and said it had "undone all the good things the present government had done on the policing count." Questioning the police version, he said: "How can police shoot an unarmed person? In one instance, you call Bharat mentally ill, and in the next instance, you kill him." Responding to the controversy, Shravan Kumar, rural works minister and senior JD(U) leader, said, "What Ashok Choudhary has said is his personal view. The government has already ordered a judicial inquiry, and everyone should wait for its findings. No one should make comments that may influence the inquiry," as he distanced himself from any defence of the encounter. Several BJP leaders also expressed concern over the incident and sought accountability, even as the government, amid mounting public pressure, maintained that the judicial inquiry it had instituted under a high court judge should establish the facts.The Bihar government also suspended several police officials and registered an FIR against officers named by Tiwari's family. The meeting is also expected to focus on better coordination before the Bankipur Assembly by-election on July 30....