Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday held meeting with his Odisha counterpart and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar.
Kumar’s meeting with Patnaik is part of the mission to unite like-minded opposition parties to cobble up a grand opposition alliance against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
According to the report in NDTV, Kumar along with his deputy and RJ(D) leader Tejashwi Yadav also recently met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata, who herself had met Naveen Patnaik a few days ago.
Kumar reportedly emphasised personal relations and asked Patnaik not to worry about political discussions.
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The report said Patnaik has also said there were no discussions over any alliance.
"Ours is a known friendship, and we were colleagues many years ago. No discussion was held on any alliances today," the report quoted Patnaik as having said.
“Patnaik consciously maintains a distance from any formation, whether led by the BJP or Congress, and is seen as friendly to any formation at the Centre,” the report stated.
“However, his agreeing to meet with Nitish Kumar, with whom he shares cordial relations and has been a cabinet colleague in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet, is significant,” it said.
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Nitish Kumar is also planning a big meeting of all Opposition Leaders in Delhi on May 18, the report said.
Meanwhile, the report said Kumar will tomorrow meet Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Hemant Soren.
Kumar will also meet NCP Chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on Thursday, it mentioned.
“The 'Nitish formula', which the Bihar Chief Minister is believed to be presenting to Opposition leaders, suggests one opposition candidate in each parliamentary seat against the BJP -- a Herculean challenge requiring sophisticated political negotiation given the individual aspirations of a divided Opposition,” it said.
Sharad Pawar had confirmed his meeting with Nitish Kumar at his press conference during which he announced his decision to withdraw his resignation as NCP boss, it said.
Earlier, Kumar had met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party boss Akhilesh Yadav, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, among others. He has been tasked with bringing together Opposition parties that have no love lost for the Congress, the report mentioned.
It also said Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, another opposition leader touring the country to stitch together a formidable alliance, had last year in August met Nitish Kumar.
