Nitish Kumar a Busy Bee in Delhi As He Takes Lead in Forging Oppn Unity

Last Updated: September 06, 2022, 16:32 IST

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal among several opposition leaders in the national capital. (Twitter Image)

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal among several opposition leaders in the national capital. (Twitter Image)

The flurry of meetings come amid strong buzz that the JD(U) leader may emerge as the Opposition’s prime ministerial face in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, a rumour he has often simply laughed off.

It is a packed schedule for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who is in the national capital on a 2-day visit. He made several stops, knocking the doors of several opposition leaders across political lines, a month after ditching the BJP alliance in Bihar and joining hands with the RJD.

The flurry of meetings come amid strong buzz that the JD(U) leader may emerge as the Opposition’s prime ministerial face in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, a rumour he has often simply just laughed off.

On being asked questions over being the opposition’s PM face, the Bihar Chief Minister today said he is neither a claimant for the prime minister’s post nor desirous of it. “It is time for the Left parties, the Congress and all regional parties to come together to form a united opposition,” Kumar told reporters.

The series of meetings began with his first stop at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s residence on Tuesday for an hour-long meeting where the the two leaders discussed the current political situation in the country. The two leaders are also learnt to have discussed ways to ensure Opposition unity. Kumar also met Janata Dal (Secular) chief H D Kumaraswamy at his residence on day one of his Delhi yatra.

Day 2 was busier for the Bihar CM who began his day with meetings with CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI General Secretary D Raja at their respective party offices. The much awaited meeting with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal came soon after. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha were also present in the meeting. Kumar is also likely to meet several other opposition leaders including Sharad Pawar (Nationalist Congress Party), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) and Om Prakash Chautala (Indian National Lok Dal).

The meetings are all part of the JDU leader’s gameplay to try and bring opposition parties together, with a special emphasis on those with socialist background, to fight against the BJP in the 2024 elections. While taking oath as the Chief Minister with the RJD as an ally last month, Nitish Kumar had said that his only goal is to work for uniting the Opposition to unseat the saffron party from power at the Centre.

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