'Historic' meeting of Mahagathbandhan leaders held in Delhi; Rahul says oppn will unite for Lok Sabha elections

Rahul said that the opposition has a vision for country and he will take along "like-minded parties and fight the assault on the institutions of the country and the countrymen unitedly”.

New Delhi:In a major development, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday announced a “historic” decision of “like-minded” parties to form a united front for the “ideological battle” against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Rahul made the announcement at a press briefing along with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and others in New Delhi.

The Congress, JDU and RJD are part of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. The parties want to extend the coalition and expand it as part of a pre-poll alliance of like minded parties to take on the BJP juggernaut in the next year's general elections. “This is a historic step to unite the opposition. We will develop the vision of the opposition parties and move forward; we will all stand together for the country,” said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the press briefing.

Over a question over how many parties were part of the alliance, Rahul said, “It is a process. We have a vision for country and will develop that. We will take along like-minded parties and fight the assault on the institutions of the country and the countrymen unitedly”. Speaking at the occasion, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said, “We have discussed a lot. Everyone will work and we will move on unitedly”.

Kumar said that the coalition partners will sit on the table and decide the future course of action. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge too called the meeting “historic”. The Congress President said that the constituent parties have decided to unite all (opposition) parties and fight the upcoming elections together.