Nitish Kumar Says 'Glad To Organise Opposition Leaders' Meet In Patna After K'taka Polls'

Nitish Kumar hinted that an opposition leaders' meeting could take place in Patna following the crucial Karnataka assembly elections, as many would be campaigning there.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hinted on Saturday (April 29) that an opposition leaders' meeting could take place in Patna after the crucial Karnataka assembly elections, as many would be campaigning there. The JD (U) supremo predicted that opposition unity issues would be thoroughly discussed at this meeting. This comes after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requested an all-party meeting in Patna to discuss opposition unity ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections after meeting with Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav in Kolkata on April 24.

"We will undoubtedly meet and discuss the issue of forming an alliance of opposition parties to challenge the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Some leaders are currently involved in the assembly election in Karnataka. We will finalise the location of our meeting once it is completed. If Patna is unanimously chosen as the next location for the opposition leaders' meeting, it will be held here," Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. 

"We will be happy to organise this meeting in Patna," he added.

READ | Nitish Kumar Calls On Lalu Yadav As RJD Chief Reaches Patna After 7 Months

Mamata Had Requested 'All Non-BJP Parties Meet' To Be Held In Patna: 

After meeting Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav in Kolkata on April 24, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee requested that a meeting of all non-BJP parties be held in Patna to discuss opposition unity before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

"I have only one request for Nitish Kumar." Jayaprakash ji's movement began in Bihar. We can decide where to go next if we have an all-party meeting in Bihar, Banerjee said after her meeting with Kumar in Kolkata.

Recognising his TMC counterpart's friendly demand, Kumar stated, "Unhone--Mamta Banerjee--to Bola Hin Tha Patna mein meeting ke liye (Mamata Banerjee had sought the meeting in Patna)." "We are working hard to bring together more and more parties in the country to oppose the BJP-led central government." I recently met with a number of opposition leaders. Now I'm going to talk to other non-BJP parties... "My goal is to bring opposition parties together before the general election," he stated.

Following their meeting with Mamta, Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi met with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on the same day to discuss the formation of an opposition alliance.

TMC and SP, which previously wanted to keep both the Congress and the BJP at arm's length, appear to have changed their stance and conveyed as much following separate meetings between the two parties' leaders with Kumar.

Prior to this, Kumar and his deputy Yadav met with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge on April 12 in Delhi.

In addition, Kumar met with Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, who admitted that it was "extremely necessary" for the entire opposition and the country to unite and change the government at the Centre. Kumar has previously urged all opposition parties, including the Congress, to work together to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.