CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal returned home on Sunday after concluding his three-day visit to India.

Though it was widely reported and by his own admission, Dahal was supposed to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but it could not happen.

Dahal had arrived in New Delhi at the invitation of JP Nadda, the national president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“The main agenda of the visit was holding a meeting with Nadda,” said Ramesh Malla, an aide to Dahal. “A meeting with Modi was not the agenda.”

According to him, a meeting, however, was expected if the Indian prime minister could manage time. “But it was not in our schedule. Since it was not in the schedule, it cannot be said that the chairman could not meet with Modi.”

On Saturday, Dahal held talks with Indian Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The Maoist chair held talks with Nadda on Sunday morning at the BJP headquarters where Jaishakar was also present.

Before leaving for Delhi, Dahal on Friday had told reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport that he was excited about his India visit. He himself had hinted at a possible meeting with Modi, while his private secretariat too had disseminated information to that effect. Various media outlets, including the Post, had reported that Dahal could meet with Modi during his stay in Delhi.

The Maoist Centre had said the party chairman’s visit was taking place at the invitation of BJP President Nadda with an aim to build party-to-party relations.

Observers and experts, however, held the view that Dahal’s visit was largely political as part of Delhi’s rapprochement bid and vice versa.