Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday requested his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar to arrange an all-party meeting in his start to start a movement against BJP ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
The two leaders and Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav met here today to discuss Opposition strategy to fight Narendra Modi-led BJP which is seeking a third straight term at the Centre.
Mamata said she has “no ego” regarding a grand alliance of anti-BJP parties and felt that it will be the people versus saffron party in the 2024 elections.
“I have made just one request to Nitish Kumar. Jayaprakash (Narayan) ji’s movement started from Bihar. If we have an all-party meeting in Bihar, we can then decide where we have to go next. But first, we have to give a message that we are united. I have said earlier, too, that I have no objections. I want BJP to become zero. They have become a big hero with the media’s support and lies,” Mamata while addressing the media with the two top Bihar leaders by her side.
Opposition parties need to sit together and strategise: Nitish Kumar on 2024 polls
Nitish, who stressed on the need for Opposition to sit together and strategise for the general elections, said it was a “very positive discussion” with Mamata.
“Those who are ruling now, have nothing to do. They are just doing their own publicity. Nothing is being done for the nation’s development,” Nitish said.
Nitish and Tejashwi are scheduled to fly to Lucknow from Kolkata to meet Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Though Mamata reiterated that she has no objection to all like-minded Opposition parties getting together for the electoral battle, neither Trinamool Congress nor SP is keen on sharing space with the Congress.
That will be the most important policy decision for the likes of Mamata and Akhilesh in their quest to form a strong alliance capable of challenging Modi’s popularity.
