PATNA: Amid demands of holding opposition unity talks in Patna, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that once the Karnataka assembly polls are over, then the date and venue would be decided.
“We had talks with almost all people but meetings with some leaders are yet to be held. Once talks are held with all and once Karnataka assembly elections get over, the date and venue of opposition unity meeting would be decided,” said Kumar on the sidelines of a function in Patna.
“Many people are of the opinion that the meeting should be held in Patna. This is a good thing. Everything will be decided once talks are complete,” he said.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee had floated the idea of holding the meeting in Patna as the anti-Emergency movement in the 1970s led by socialist leader the late Jayaprakash Narayan began from the state. She had suggested to her Bihar counterpart to host a meeting of all opposition parties in his home state to give shape to a united Opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Kumar, who is spearheading the opposition unity move ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, had already met several political leaders of different parties during the last one month. Recently, he met Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. He also met Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja during his Delhi visit recently.
A senior JD-U leader said that the modalities will soon be worked out, as Nitish Kumar’s initiative for a larger cause had evoked favourable response from most quarters and opposition leaders are eager to take it forward.
BJP, on the other hand, is dismissive. “Nitish Kumar should first focus on saving Bihar from slipping into Jungle Raj. He is on the last leg of his political journey, and he has nothing to lose. He wanted to be the PM, now he wants to be the kingmaker. Let’s see where he ends up,” said BJP spokesman and general secretary of the party’s OBC Morcha Nikhil Anand.
