By Our Special Correspondent
Before wrapping up his four-day visit to the national capital, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar chose to play down the crucial leadership question, saying the priority was to forge unity among opposition parties to fight the BJP in the 2024 general Election.
Kumar's response came as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped up its attack on his efforts to unite opposition parties.
Speaking after meeting Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Wednesday, Nitish said his meetings with all opposition parties have been encouraging.
Over the past few years, Pawar has also been making efforts to bring the opposition parties together to fight the BJP unitedly. "Our first priority is to build unity in the interests of the country. The question of leadership will be decided later," Nitish said, adding, "Rather than one face, the country needs a united front."
The JD-U chief also met CPI-M general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and RJD leader Sharad Yadav. Nitish has expressed his loyalty to the Congress that he will come to Delhi again to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is currently on a foreign tour.
“I will come again to meet Sonia Gandhi after her return. All the leaders I met in Delhi expressed gratitude for breaking with the NDA.
Political observers say that the BJP is calling the unity of the opposition a sham, but the Bihar Chief Minister is trying to make his position relevant in Bihar.
Former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who termed his first visit to the national capital as a "political trip" after breaking ties with the BJP-led NDA last month, said he was traveling with rivers overflowing amid Bihar's drought and daily incidents. Serious crimes like murder.
Kumar, who has generally had a clean image throughout his long political and administrative career, is now siding with those accused of serious corruption charges, the BJP leader said, referring to allegations against leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party and opposition parties Meeting.
The long-time chief minister of Bihar has been meeting opposition leaders since he arrived here on September 5, stating that a non-BJP alliance could oust the ruling party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
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