Mumbai: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday discussed efforts to strengthen opposition unity ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections. Kumar, who visited Pawar at the latter's residence in south Mumbai along with deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, told reporters that what the ruling BJP is doing is not in the interest of the country. Earlier in the day, Nitish Kumar had also met Uddhav Thackeray at the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader's residence here.
Asked if Pawar will be the main face of the opposition alliance, Kumar said, There will be nothing more delightful than that. I have told him that he has to work with more vigour not only for his party but for the entire country." The more opposition parties come together, the better it is in the interest of the country, Kumar said.
Pawar said, "To save democracy, it is important to work together. After looking at the condition of the country, it seems that if we work together, there will be support for the alternative." The NCP chief said BJP will lose the Karnataka assembly elections. "As per my info, people there will oust BJP and elect a secular government," he said.
"Welcomed the Chief Minister of Bihar Shri Nitish Kumar ji and deputy Chief Minister Shri Tejashwi Yadav ji at my Mumbai residence today. We had a brief discussion to strengthen the Opposition unity ahead of the Lok Sabha elections," Pawar tweeted after meeting Kumar.
Nitish Kumar also met Uddhav Thackeray at the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader's residence in Mumbai. "When everyone fights together, there will be a contest (with BJP). There will be good success (to opposition parties) and the country will head in the right direction," Kumar said.
Nitish earlier met his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday in Bhubaneswar. However, after the meeting, the two CMs maintained that there was no political discussion. In the press conference after the meeting, Patnaik said that they were just two old friends and colleagues. "We did not discuss any politics."
Nitish in the past has held discussions with several opposition leaders such as Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. He had also met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, and CPI leader D Raja in Delhi.
Also read: Nitish meets Patnaik, both claim no talks on alliance for 2024 polls
