Patna/New Delhi: Giving a major boost to opposition unity and the proposed united front of all anti-BJP parties for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, senior JD (U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday called on Communist Party of India (CPI-Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja. The discussion revolved around bringing all the opposition parties together to fight against the BJP unitedly.
Yechury said that opposition parties will go after the seat-sharing adjustment at the State level. "The seat-sharing adjustment of all the opposition parties will take place at the respective state level," said Yechury after meeting Kumar in New Delhi. Citing an example, Yechury said that in Kerala the Left parties fight against Congress. "Our motto is to defeat the BJP in the 2024 election and for that maximum number of opposition parties should come together," he said.
Kumar is presently campaigning in New Delhi to meet leaders of all Delhi-based political parties with the aim to form a formidable alliance ahead of the 2024 general election. Before meeting Yechury, Kumar called on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and other party leaders on Wednesday.
"If you see the previous instances of forming an opposition front then such fronts take shape only after the election. Whether it is 1996, 1998 and 2002 election, the opposition front came to the fore only after the election," said Yechury highlighting that a meeting of opposition leaders will take place very soon. When asked about any common face of the opposition parties, Yechury said all parties are presently talking to each other. "The ball is rolling in the right direction. We are sure that we will be able to defeat BJP in the 2024 election," said Yechury.
On Wednesday, after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said that Kumar would act as the negotiator between all the non-BJP parties and would unite the opposition to oust the Narendra Modi-led-government from power. With an aim to forge an opposition front, Congress has decided to reach out to its allies including Uddhan Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction, Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. On the other hand, Kumar has taken on the responsibility of reaching out to all parties that maintain distance from the BJP.
To begin with, Kumar held a meeting with Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday evening. Kejriwal, who too stressed on opposition unity said Kumar's initiative was commendable. "We are with Nitish Kumar to defeat the Modi government. We will meet again in the future and discuss the necessary strategies to fight against the BJP," Kejriwal had said.
He has also taken upon himself to approach K Chandrashekar Rao of Bharat Rashtra Samiti and Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress. Both these leaders had earlier refused to join hands with the Congress and it is to be seen as to how Kumar would manage to bring them to join the opposition front. After arriving in Delhi on Tuesday, Kumar met Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Also read: Nitish Kumar meets Congress chief Kharge and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi
After leaving the BJP alliance and forming the government with Mahagathbandhan, Kumar has been speaking for opposition unity. On several occasions in the past, he urged all non-BJP parties to join hands to defeat the saffron party and also reiterated that he did not have any ambition of becoming the Prime Minister. During his last visit to Delhi in September 2022, Kumar had met Sharad Pawar and Akhilesh Yadav apart from Kejriwal, Raja and Yechury.
