Hectic preparations for Nitish Kumar's Patna opposition meet on Jun 23

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's Patna opposition parties meeting was postponed twice earlier on May 19 and June 12 due to unavailability of the Congress leaders. This time, Nitish is making hectic preparations for the June 23 meeting with expectations rising over the arrival of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikharjuna Kharge, and other opposition leaders Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and M K Stalin.

Patna (Bihar) : Preparations are going on in full swing for the meeting of the anti-BJP parties to be held on June 23 in the capital, Patna. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar himself is monitoring the preparations. The Chief Minister has assigned the party's National President and senior leaders the task of making the June 23 opposition meeting a success.

Opposition leaders from over 17 parties have been invited to attend the Patna meeting. All eyes were on the arrival of Rahul Gandhi, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, SP Supremo Akhilesh Yadav, NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin.

Because the alliance of opposition parties is about to be formed with the Congress holding a key role, everyone's eyes will be on Rahul Gandhi, said political experts. The Patna meeting of opposition was first proposed to be held on May 19 when it could not be held because of the Congress leaders' preoccupation with the Karnataka Cabinet swearing-in.

Once again, the Patna opposition meeting was postponed from June 12 due to the foreign tour of Rahul Gandhi. At that time, Nitish Kumar said the event was postponed at the request of the Congress leadership. This time, the Bihar CM is going ahead with hectic preparations for the landmark meeting ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Arrangements have been made to accommodate the Chief Ministers and other guests in the State Guest House. The Patna Circuit House is also being prepared for receiving the guests. Dishes of Bihar will be served to the dignitaries. Important hotels in Patna have been given the responsibility of serving delicious food and drinks to VIP visitors.

The Chief Ministers will also be served the dishes of their respective states along with the delicacies of Bihar. "The Chief Minister of Bihar will leave no stone unturned in hospitality. In all the big events that have taken place here before, everyone has seen the manner of his hosting. And this is the preparation for the big battle of 2024, and this cannot be low key," said Sanjay Gandhi, Legislative Councillor.

Bihar Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said that the presence of leaders of all major opposition parties will help to effectively counter the BJP. Vijay Chowdhary said the whole country was of the opinion that if the opposition fights unitedly then it is not possible for the BJP to come back to power at the Centre. "Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is making efforts and we are fully hopeful that there will be a success in opposition unity," he said.

Building Construction Minister Ashok Chaudhary said that last year, Nitish Kumar left the NDA, joined the Grand Alliance and formed the government. "Since then, he has been engaged in uniting the opposition parties against the BJP. There should be coordination of opposition parties with Congress. It is the effort of Nitish Kumar to ensure that there would be a joint candidate of the opposition in most of the seats in the Lok Sabha to counter the BJP," he said.