Patna: Ahead of the mega opposition meeting of leaders from 18 parties in Patna tomorrow, political analyst Prashant Kishor on Thursday took a dig at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar saying his efforts to unite opposition leaders will fail just like it had been unsuccessful five years back. He said that Kumar will face a similar defeat as that faced by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Warning Kumar of losing Bihar in his bid to forge opposition alliance, Kishor said Naidu was running a majority government in Andhra Pradesh in 2019 when he was trying to bring all parties to the same page ahead of the previous 2019 Lok Sabha polls. On the contrary, Kumar was running a coalition government with 42 MLAs. "In an effort to form an opposition unity to defeat PM Modi run BJP government, Naidu visited several states. As a result, in Andhra Pradesh, his MPs were reduced to three and only 23 MLAs won leading to his own defeat in the state," Kishor said.
Kishor advised Kumar that instead of worrying about the entire country he should focus on Bihar. "Nitish Kumar should worry about Bihar. He does not even have a secured place of his own. Today RJD that has zero MPs in Bihar is deciding the Prime Minister of the country. The party that does not have its own base is trying to bring together other parties of the country," he said.
Raising questions on the equations between parties of the proposed opposition alliance, Kishor said Kumar should first be questioned on whether West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee is ready to work with the Congress. Next, will Kumar and Lalu be ready to give even a single seat to TMC in Bihar, he questioned. "You mark my words in writing, Nitish Kumar will face the same defeat as Chandrababu Naidu faced in Andhra Pradesh," he added.
He further said that Kumar was a "blind king" among the blind. "All the leaders who reach the meeting will drink tea and eat food but nothing will come out of it. The conclusion will be that Nitish Kumar will have to leave the Grand Alliance and join the NDA after being defeated," Kishor predicted.
