In the midst of a series of meetings with the leaders of regional political parties, Bihar Chief Minister warned that “attempts are being made to change history”, arguing that this — along with media suppression and communal conflict — was the reason why a united Opposition front must be crafted to take on the BJP in next year’s Lok Sabha election
A day after meeting Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, Mr. Kumar called on Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in Ranchi on Wednesday. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and Janata Dal (United) national president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh were also present at the meeting, during which talks were held on uniting the Opposition.
‘Consensus needed’
Mr. Soren said that more such meetings would be held, and the opinions of all political parties would be welcomed; based on these discussions, a consensus would be reached on the Opposition’s unity. Mr. Kumar’s next stop is in Mumbai on Thursday, where he will meet leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena (UBT).
“We have this opinion that the maximum number of Opposition parties should be united and we all can go ahead together. As you all know very well, attempts are being made to change history. Today, even the media is being suppressed. Earlier, they had freedom. We only want that history should not be changed, and there should not be any clash on the basis of Hindu-Muslims. We have to save this country and we are talking to everyone across the nation,” Mr. Kumar told journalists soon after the meeting.
Mr. Kumar recalled that Shibu Soren — chief of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and father of Jharkand’s current CM — had made him the Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time, though he had held the post only for a few days. The Bihar CM stressed that people would see the results of the upcoming Lok Sabha election and the nation would be intact once everyone comes together.
Unity tour
Last year in September, Mr. Kumar had met several Opposition leaders in New Delhi — including the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi — with a message of Opposition’s unity. However, the Bihar CM has denied being a contender for the Prime Minister’s post. Ever since he snapped ties with the BJP in Bihar, Mr. Kumar has been seen by some as a potential candidate to take on the PM Natrendra Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Last month, Mr. Kumar had again met several Opposition leaders — including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Aam Admi Party leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav — with the aim of uniting the Opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha poll.
After meeting Ms. Banerjee and Mr. Yadav in Kolkata and Lucknow respectively, Mr. Kumar had stressed that good results could be produced if all parties fought the election together. Even Ms. Banerjee had emphasised the need for Opposition parties to send out a message of unity, while the SP chief extended his full support to the Bihar CM’s campaign to “save democracy and the Constitution”.
Patnaik non-committal
However, no talk was held on Opposition unity or alliance-building during the meeting between Mr. Kumar and Mr. Patnaik on Monday. Mr. Patnaik has remained non-committal about joining the Opposition front to fight the BJP, ahead of the 2024 election.
After meeting Mr. Soren, Mr. Kumar is likely to meet Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Thursday. Last month, Nitish had said that after the Karnataka election, he wiould be happy to organise a meeting of Opposition leaders in Patna.
The Bihar CM has been continuously saying that all Opposition parties would sit together and discuss the issue pertaining to the formation of an alliance of Opposition parties to take on the BJP in the coming general election.
‘All talk, no alliance’
Bihar BJP president Samrat Choudhary took a dig at the CM’s meeting with the leaders of regional parties.
“He is going everywhere for tea and breakfast but no leaders are ready to form an alliance. The way he has gone to Odisha for tea and breakfast, he has done something similar in Jharkhand as well. Have you heard from any Chief Ministers that they are ready for Opposition unity or will join the alliance? All are saying that he has come to meet but no political talk took place,“ Mr. Choudhary said in Bhagalpur on Wednesday.
