Patna:Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had earlier created a stir over assertions of the possibility of early Lok Sabha elections, on Friday said that such a possibility has increased as the ruling BJP government at the Centre is afraid of the Opposition unity, which has gained momentum.
"Looking at the Opposition unity gaining momentum chances are high that the people in power in the Centre may feel that such movements may cause harm to them. So there is a possibility that they may want to go for early Lok Sabha polls. That is why we have alerted all the parties and told them that only if we all fight the elections together can we get rid of the BJP," Kumar said while talking to reporters at Raj Bhawan after the swearing-in of MLA Ratnesh Sada into the cabinet.
The ministerial berth fell vacant after former chief minister and founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha Jitan Ram Majhi's son Santosh Suman Majhi tendered his resignation. Santosh Suman held the SC ST Welfare department.
Kumar said that if the BJP feels that they may suffer due to the Opposition meetings if elections are held at the usual time then polls will definitely be held early. The Centre has the right to hold elections early, he said. Citing an instance of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure, Kumar said that polls were held three to four months ahead of the schedule as his party leaders wanted it though Vajpayee himself was not in favour of doing so.
On Wednesday, Kumar had said that the possibility of early Lok Sabha polls cannot be ruled out though he did not elaborate on it. Addressing officials of the department via video conference, Kumar had asked them to complete pending work by January 2024 as elections could be announced at any time.
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Meanwhile, around 17 political parties have given their consent to attend the Opposition meeting in Patna on June 23. The Opposition parties will come up with a strategy to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Also, a joint statement of intent will be finalised at the meeting that is being hosted by Kumar.
