Chairman of the CPN (Maoist Centre) Pushpa Kamal Dahal left for New Delhi on Friday afternoon on a three-day visit.

At the invitation of JP Nadda, the national President of Bharatiya Janata Party, Dahal is visiting India just two days after he held extensive talks with the head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China, Liu Jianchao, in Kathmandu.

“I am excited to visit India,” said Dahal before leaving for New Delhi on Friday. “This is my goodwill visit.”

Dahal, however, said there is no relation between his India visit and the recent visit by the Chinese delegation.

“It [India visit] was planned some one and a half months back,” said Dahal at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

He is accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal and his personal aide Ramesh Malla.

He is expected to meet External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser of India Ajit Doval and BJP national president Nadda among others.

He is also scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday before returning to Nepal.

“I had consulted with the prime minister and foreign ministry officials also. This is an important visit,” said Dahal. “This visit is meaningful for Nepal, Nepali people, the government and the ruling alliance. I am excited about it.”