Nitish Kumar meets Mamata Banerjee in bid to form Opposition unity

In a bid to unite the Opposition forces against the BJP-led government at the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav reached the West Bengal state secretariat 'Nabanna' in Kolkata to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The three leaders held a closed-door meeting to strategise on fighting the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, officials said.

While details of the discussion were scanty with the leaders preferring to speak on the broader consensus, sources told news agency PTI that the two sides used the meeting to figure out how they would proceed in sewing together a coalition that would be workable ahead of the elections.

At the joint press conference after the meeting, Banerjee said,"We have to give the message that we are all together."

"I have made just one request to Nitish Kumar. Jayaprakash ji's movement started from Bihar. If we have an all-party meeting in Bihar, we can then decide where we have to go next. But first of all, we have to give a message that we are united. I have said earlier too that I have no objections. I want BJP to become zero. They have become a big hero with media's support and lies," the Bengal CM said.

"All are together. All parties will work together to fight the BJP. We will go ahead together. We have no personal ego, we want to work together collectively," she added.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said, "All parties must prepare together for the next Lok Sabha polls. Opposition parties need to sit together and strategies."

"We have held talks, especially about the coming together of all parties and making all preparations ahead of the upcoming Parliament elections. Whatever will be done next, will be done in the nation's interest. Those who are ruling now, have nothing to do. They are just doing their own publicity. Nothing is being done for the nation's development," the Chief Minister further said.

Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav are later scheduled to fly to Lucknow to meet Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Both Trinamool Congress and SP have not been keen on sharing space with the grand old party.

Banerjee held similar meetings with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy last month.

In a bid to unite the opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Kumar met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and its president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi earlier this month.