Another Blow To I.N.D.I.A Camp As Nitish Kumar Unlikely To Join Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo...' Rally

Nitish Kumar will not be joining Rahul Gandhi during the Bihar leg of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

Nitish Kumar will join Rahul Gandhi at a public event on January 30. ( Image Source :PTI )

The Congress and the I.N.D.I.A bloc has suffered a major blow as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is unlikely to join Rahul Gandhi on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Nitish Kumar will not participate in the Congress's mass outreach programme on January 30 as scheduled earlier, said sources. Kumar's reluctance to put up a "united face" ahead of the Lok Sabha elections comes even as the I.N.D.I.A bloc reels under the 'defections' of Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and her Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, who said they will fight the Lok Sabha 2024 elections alone in their respective states.

The I.N.D.I.A bloc will still be hoping for Nitish Kumar's support during the elections as it would be difficult to navigate the waters without the JD(U)-RJD alliance's support with the BJP juggernaut decimating Congress in 3 of the 5 recent elections held last year.

Congress leader Prem Chandra Mishra had earlier said that Kumar would join Gandhi at a public event in Purnea. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier sent an invitation to Kumar through senior party leaders Akhilesh Singh and Shakeel Ahmed Khan.

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered West Bengal from Assam through the Cooch Behar border on Thursday amid a display of opposition by Trinamool Congress supporters. The protesters put up posters saying that read: "Didi is enough."

Like Northeast, Now West Bengal is giving lot of love and support to Rahul Gandhi. Change is coming & Congress is winning. pic.twitter.com/2qcR6wPE8H

— Aaron Mathew (@AaronMathewINC) January 25, 2024

Congress supporters, however, welcomed Rahul Gandhi to the state, where the Yatra would cover six Lok Sabha seats — Darjeeling, Raiganj, North Malda, South Malda, and two in Murshidabad — over five days.

Like Northeast, Now West Bengal is giving lot of love and support to Rahul Gandhi. Change is coming & Congress is winning. pic.twitter.com/2qcR6wPE8H

— Aaron Mathew (@AaronMathewINC) January 25, 2024

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will end in Mumbai on March 20.