- Wednesday, April 24, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
It was a mixed day for the opposition forces in Indian politics. While Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of the eastern state of Bihar and one of the major opponents to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), backed the idea of Sharad Pawar, the president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), being the face of opposition alliance, his counterpart from the state Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, made it clear that his Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will contest the general elections of 2024 alone, as it has “always” done.
Patnaik’s words came just days after Kumar met him amid efforts to force a united opposition to take on prime minister Narendra Modi.
Talking to media in New Delhi after a meeting with Modi over developmental issues related to his state, Patnaik said Kumar’s visiting him in Odisha was a “courtesy call” and reiterated his party’s position of remaining equidistant from both the national parties — BJP and the Indian National Congress.
Patnaik has been at the helm in Odisha since 2000 and his BJD is among some regional parties which have maintained a neutral stand on the issues involving clashes between the ruling BJP and Opposition.
In Mumbai, however, Kumar was trying his best to cement the opposition alliance. About backing Pawar as the face of the opposition, he said there will be “nothing more delightful than that”.
Addressing a joint press conference after meeting the Maratha strongman in the western city of Mumbai, Kumar, who is also the leader of the Janata Dal (United), said they are trying hard to form a larger coalition and the more the number of parties come together, it is better in the country’s interest.
Kumar’s deputy Tejashwi Yadav accompanied him as he visited Pawar’s residence in south Mumbai.
The Bihar chief minister, who dumped the ruling BJP twice since 2013 — the latest being in 2022 when he joined hands with Tejashwi’s Rashtriya Janata Dal to form a new government in the state — said the saffron party is not serving the nation’s interest nowadays and more opposition parties needed to join hands.
Pawar, who recently quit as the NCP chief only to return within a few days citing his colleagues’ sentiment, said these talks are part of the United Progressive Alliance, an alliance led by the Indian National Congress. Both Pawar and Kumar are in alliance with the grand-old party in their respective states — Maharashtra and Bihar.
Earlier today, Kumar also met Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence ‘Matoshree’ in Mumbai as part of his efforts to bring Opposition leaders under one roof.
(With agency inputs)
