New Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday pointed out that the Congress is still the ‘largest party’ in the Opposition bloc and stressed that others must think ‘practically’ about its relevance.
“Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad would meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi after she returns from abroad,” Yadav told new publication Indian Express. The meeting will be part of the ongoing efforts to form an alliance among the Opposition parties to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections, he clarified.
Defeating the BJP should be the sole “personal ambition” for Opposition leaders, the leader said in the interview.
“A good beginning has been made. Bihar has provided a good template and it should be replicated elsewhere. Nitishji has met many leaders, Laluji has also spoke, I also keep meeting. Once Soniaji is back, Nitishji and Laluji will meet her to discuss the way ahead. A dialogue has finally begun on the next Lok Sabha polls, which was not the case before the developments in Bihar,” he told the Indian Express.
In August, Kumar ended the JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP to join RJD, Congress, and Left parties and formed a ‘mahagathbandhan’ to resume his tenure as the Bihar Chief Minister. Tejashwi Yadav said the alliance has generated ‘hope’ in the Opposition parties that will trigger changes to be visible in the days ahead.
Commenting on the BJP's status, the Bihar Deputy CM said the party’s strength has already come down after the JD(U)’s departure. “Arithmetically, the combined vote share of Congress, RJD, JD(U), Left parties is beyond 50 per cent. The BJP is not going to repeat its performance of winning 39 of 40 seats in Bihar. The Congress had won zero seats in Rajasthan, that is not going to happen again. If we join hands and fight with a strategy, then the BJP will definitely stop short of the halfway mark,” he noted in the interview.
Earlier this month when five Janata Dal (United) MLAs from Manipur merged with the ruling BJP, Nitish Kumar affirmed that the opposition will unite for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, reported news agency ANI. The MLAs from JDU merging with the BJP gave a big jolt to Kumar and his party.
In 2020, the BJP-JD(U) fought election in an alliance and went on to form the government with Nitish Kumar being given the Chief Minister’s post.
In less than two years’ time, Nitish Kumar in a surprise move went on to stitch an alliance with RJD and Congress to form a ‘Grand Alliance’ government in Bihar.