Kharge reaches out to Nitish, Mamata, sets the ball rolling for Opposition unity ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls

The Congress on Friday sent a clear signal to like-minded Opposition parties that they are ready to take the first step in terms of uniting the Opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, with national president Mallikarjun Kharge calling up Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and reaching out to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Patna: In an effort to bring the opposition under one umbrella before the crucial 2024 Loksabha polls, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made a phone call to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and reached out to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Kharge is also planning to reach out to the opposition heavyweights, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Tejaswi Yadav.

Sources have revealed that Kharge and Nitish Kumar spoke about opposition unity and future strategies to challenge the BJP in Bihar during their interaction. They received positive feedback from each other. Nitish Kumar has previously stated that he is waiting for Congress to take the initiative of bringing the opposition together.

After the formation of the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar, Nitish Kumar visited New Delhi and met senior leaders of various political parties including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, D. Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Akhilesh Yadav, and Arvind Kejriwal. During the CPI(ML) convention in Patna last month, Nitish Kumar told senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid to convey his message to the Congress top leadership for opposition unity. In response, Salman Khurshid said that they are waiting for someone to make the first move.

Recently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin organized a convention attended by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gahlot, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge among others. They all advocated for opposition unity. Kharge has also interacted with Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray.

With the Lok Sabha elections only a year away, opposition parties are making efforts to come together to challenge the ruling BJP. The BJP has been successful in winning several state elections over the past few years, and the opposition parties believe that they can only win by uniting and presenting a strong challenge to the BJP. However, there are challenges to opposition unity as each party has its own agenda and ambitions.

Reacting to the efforts of opposition unity, Bihar BJP State President Samrat Chaudhary said, “Arvind Kejriwal from Delhi, Akhilesh Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee from West Bengal, Stalin from Tamil Nadu, there are many candidates who want to become the Prime Minister. How many Prime Ministers will this country have?”

“'Ghotala and khichdi ki government will not last. People have seen what happened in the country between 2004 and 2014. From coal to 2G, there was corruption everywhere. People know everything,” he added.