Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will meet his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday as part of attempts to bring the non-NDA parties together, according to credible sources. They believe the JD(U) supreme leader would fly to Bhubaneswar in the morning and return in the evening. The meeting will take place Tuesday afternoon, according to the chief minister's office, news agency PTI reported.
Speculations regarding Kumar's meeting with Patnaik, the leader of the Biju Janata Dal, had been circulating for some time.
The Bihar chief minister, who severed relations with the BJP last year, vowing to defeat it in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has travelled far and spoken with political figures of all stripes as part of his "opposition unity drive."
He recently met with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the Samajwadi Party.
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He has previously met with former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, NCP President Sharad Pawar, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, among others.
Patnaik, a former BJP ally, is one of the country's longest-serving chief ministers. He has attempted to strike a balance between the Congress and the BJP.
When Kumar met Banerjee, she requested him to organise a gathering in Bihar of opposition leaders from around the nation.
Kumar has suggested that such a gathering may take place following the Karnataka assembly elections.
The campaign has concluded in the state, which goes to the polls on Wednesday, with results expected on Saturday.
Earlier in March, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met with Naveen in Bhubaneswar. Despite suspicion that the two leaders discussed potential political situations in the run-up to the 2024 elections, both Naveen and Mamata have stated that there was no significant political talk.