NEW DELHI: Hours after he gave a call to build a strong Opposition front that included the Congress, to take on the BJP, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) head Nitish Kumar held talks with Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi here on Sunday. RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav accompanied him.
“We have to bring all Opposition parties together to defeat the BJP. The Congress is in the process of electing its new president and Sonia Gandhi told us that we will meet after the election,” Nitish later said.
He added that there was broad agreement on Opposition unity but a concrete action plan can be formulated only after the Congress presidential polls. “We will hold further talks after the Congress organisational polls,” he said.
Lalu said, “Without Congress, there would be no alliance. All of us have to come together to remove BJP from the country.” This was Nitish’s first meeting with Sonia after he walked out of the BJP alliance in Bihar. Lalu, too, was meeting Sonia after a gap of five years.
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Speaking to TINE, JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said Nitish will strive to bring all disparate parties together, including Naveen Patnaik’s BJD. “Nitish doesn’t believe in political untouchability. He is planning to travel to Odisha and West Bengal to meet Mamata and Naveen,” said Tyagi.
No big deal: Sushil Modi
“These regional parties have only a few seats in Lok Sabha and they won’t dent BJP’s prospects in 2024. We will secure more seats than last time,” said senior BJP leader Sushil Modi.