Hazare and his colleagues also met former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad and Communist A.B. Bardhan as part of their campaign for an effective anti-corruption Lokpal bill.

Their expected meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi did not take place.

Hazare aide Arvind Kejriwal said that Nitish Kumar's government planned to use the civil society's Jan Lokpal bill as a model for a Lokayukta in the state.

Hazare was all praise for Nitish Kumar, saying he was already implementing a lot of the measures suggested in the Jan Lokpal draft.

"The entire bureaucracy should be brought under the Lokpal, and that's what he has done in a time bound programme," said Hazare. "Today he is the chief minister, but his real roots lie in being an activist."

In the evening, Team Anna met Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad at his New Delhi residence.

Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan said his party wanted a strong Lokpal bill to counter corruption.

Bardhan said he hoped the government would not table a "bogus draft" in parliament.

On Friday, Hazare will meet senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

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