After Manipur debacle, Nitish Kumar calls for unity of Oppn in 2024 polls

New Delhi, Sep 03: A day after five out of six JD(U) ditched the party and joined the BJP in Manipur, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has given a call for the unity of the opposition parties to take on the saffron party in the 2024 Loksabha elections.

"When we parted ways from NDA, all our six Manipur MLAs came and met us and assured us they were with JDU. We need to think about what's going on. They're breaking away the MLAs from the parties, is it constitutional?... Opposition will unify for 2024 elections," Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said.

Five Janata Dal (United) JD(U) MLAs on Friday merged with the ruling party BJP, according to a statement from Manipur Legislative Assembly Secretariat.

A statement issued by Manipur Assembly secretary K Meghajit Singh said that the Speaker was "pleased to accept the merger" of five JD(U) MLAs with the BJP under the 10th schedule of the constitution.

Responding to the latest development, JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan said that the BJP did in Manipur what it had "previously attempted in Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra". "Our MLAs in Manipur had defeated BJP candidates at the hustings. Ditto in Arunachal Pradesh where our MLAs were poached while we were still in NDA," fumed Lalan.

"Whatever tricks the BJP may play, it will not be able to stop JD(U) from becoming a national party by 2023," asserted Lalan.

"The BJP should worry about itself. In 2015 assembly polls, none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 42 rallies but the party could win only 53 seats in the 243-strong Bihar Vidhan Sabha. They should think of their fate in 2024 when the entire opposition will stand united against them," he said.

Referring to Modi's recent allegation that opposition parties were in a huddle to protect the corrupt, the JD(U) chief taunted "what BJP is doing to other parties is 'sadachar' but a joint fight against its brazen use of money power is 'bhrashtachar'. The prime minister has redefined these terms".

Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Modi said that they will make 'JDU-mukt' Bihar soon. "Five JDU MLAs joined the BJP in Manipur, the state has become JDU-free. Those MLAs wanted to remain in NDA. Very soon, we will break the JDU-RJD alliance in Bihar and make the state JDU free," said Modi.

The latest political developments in Manipur come weeks after Nitish Kumar dumped the BJP and joined hands with Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress and other parties to govern Bihar.