Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge here in the presence of Rahul Gandhi. The meeting at Kharge's residence comes amid talks of Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Nitish Kumar arrived in Delhi on a three-day visit on Tuesday. According to official sources, Kumar is also likely to meet Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. After his arrival in Delhi, the Chief Minister first met Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad to discuss the current political situation amid efforts to strengthen the opposition unity. The duo met on the day when Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister and Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the land-for-job scam.
Upon his arrival in Delhi, Kumar headed to Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti's residence to meet Lalu Prasad. Both leaders discussed the current political situation. Kumar also enquired about Lalu's health, who had undergone a kidney transplant recently and will be visiting Singapore for his check-up. Nitish Kumar was accompanied by JDU President Lalan Singh and Minister Sanjay Jha.
Also read: Nitish Kumar leaves for Delhi on three-day tour, may meet non-BJP leaders
Ever since Nitish Kumar left the BJP alliance and formed the government with the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), he has been vocal about opposition unity and the need to join hands to defeat BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. On Kumar's visit to Delhi, Bihar BJP chief Samrat Choudhary said that Kumar's dream to become the prime minister would never fulfil as the people of the country believe in PM Narendra Modi and his leadership. There is no unity among the opposition leaders at all.
Kharge has spoken to several opposition leaders recently in an attempt to forge unity among like-minded parties to take on the BJP. He has reached out to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and may have a meeting with top opposition leaders in the coming weeks.
