Lagatar24 desk
New Delhi, Sept 6: Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, is in the capital on a two-day visit, and his schedule is jam-packed. A month after leaving the BJP coalition in Bihar and allying with the RJD, he made multiple trips and knocked on the doors of numerous opposition figures across political divides.
The JD(U) leader has frequently laughed off rumors that he could become the Opposition’s prime ministerial candidate in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, but there has been a flurry of meetings amid widespread rumors.
The Bihar Chief Minister responded today when questioned about serving as the opposition’s PM face that he is neither running for nor interested in the position. For the sake of forming a unified opposition, Kumar told reporters that it was time for the Left parties, the Congress, and all regional parties to unify.
His first visit in the series of meetings was at Congressman Rahul Gandhi’s home on Tuesday, when the two leaders had an hour-long discussion about the nation’s political climate. It is also rumored that the two leaders talked about how to maintain Opposition unity. On the first day of his Delhi yatra, Kumar also had a meeting with HD Kumaraswamy, the leader of the Janata Dal (Secular).
Day 2 was busier for the Bihar chief minister, who had meetings with the general secretaries of the CPI(M) and CPI at their respective party headquarters. The long-awaited meeting with Delhi’s chief executive Arvind Kejriwal followed shortly. Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, and Sanjay Jha, the leader of the JD(U), were also present. Other opposition leaders like Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, and Om Prakash Chautala of Indian National Lok Dal are also set to meet with Kumar.
The meetings are all part of the JD(U) 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.
