Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will chair an all-important opposition meeting on June 12. The Janata Dal (United) said opposition parties will meet in Patna and decide on a joint strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“12th June has been decided for the meeting and CM Nitish Kumar will chair the meeting,” said JD(U) leader Manjit Singh on Sunday. There has been much discussion and debate, as well as meetings between different non-NDA political parties, over the past few months on creating a joint opposition front to counter the ruling BJP in the polls next year.
#WATCH | Bihar: JDU leader Manjit Singh speaks on the opposition meeting in Patna, says, "12th June has been decided for the meeting and CM Nitish Kumar will chair the meeting." pic.twitter.com/bAcOp1bnDp— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2023
The notion of a joint fight in the 2024 elections has become stronger as 21 opposition parties unitedly boycotted the inauguration of the new Parliament building earlier in the day. Despite heavy criticism by the BJP and its allies, the boycott party refused to relent on its stand about sidelining President Droupadi Murmu, who is the head of the state, for the grand event.
According to media reports, over 18 like-minded opposition parties will attend the conclave next month but a senior leader said this was not the main meeting of opposition parties, which will be held much later. Kumar has been meeting leaders across parties to forge opposition unity, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, his West Bengal counterpart and TMC boss Mamata Banerjee, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav among others.
The Bihar CM had earlier volunteered to be a mediator and wants to bring all like-minded opposition parties on board. He has been successful in getting Mamata, Kejriwal and Yadav on board — the three have expressed reluctance in joining hands with the Congress.
The JD(U), meanwhile, said the meeting on June 12 will “send a message to the whole country that change in the country will start from Bihar”. “You will see that parties with the same views will stand together,” Manjit Singh added.
Other parties, too, have been holding meetings with each other. Mamata and Yadav met in the past to hint at a sort of ‘Third Front’. But more recently, Kejriwal has been meeting leaders across parties, including his Telangana counterpart K Chandrashekar Rao, albeit for different reasons and to notch up support against the Delhi ordinance.
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