Nitish Kumar meets Kejriwal after Congress' snub to AAP leader

This is the second meeting between Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal in over a month. The Janata Dal (United) leader had earlier met the Delhi chief minister here on April 12.

New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met his Delhi counterpart and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal at the latter's residence here on Sunday, a day after attending the swearing-in ceremony of the new Congress government in Karnataka. Kejriwal was among the few non-BJP chief ministers who were not invited by the Congress to the event, which was also seen as a show of strength by opposition parties.

Kumar met Kejriwal as part of his efforts to forge a larger unity among opposition parties to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was also present at the meeting. This is the second meeting between Kumar and Kejriwal in over a month. The Janata Dal (United) leader had earlier met the Delhi chief minister here on April 12. Sources said CM Arvind Kejriwal will also meet Mamta Banerjee, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray on the ordinance of the Center.

With Kejriwal's relations with the Congress far from smooth, Kumar has the task of building some kind of a working relationship between the two as he also sees the grand old party as critical to any Opposition unity bid. The AAP has grown in Delhi and Punjab by occupying the space once largely seen as Congress territory. A section of Congress leaders believe that reclaiming the constituency is the key to the party's revival in these states and any compromise with it can hamper their plans. Kumar has been meeting regional satraps as part of the unity exercise which is yet to take a concrete shape. (PTI)