RAJGIR (BIHAR), July 19: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday denied reports that he was dissatisfied with the opposition conclave held in Bengaluru for not being made the convenor of the newly formed alliance and that he was not happy with its acronym INDIA.
Talking to reporters after inaugurating a month-long ‘Malmas Mela’ here, Kumar claimed that the BJP will be wiped out in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“The meeting was very fruitful and we all are very happy with the outcome. I could not attend the press conference after the conclave as I had to come back to Patna. My effort is to unite all opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls… and now things are taking shape,” the JD(U) leader said.
Soon after the conclave attended by 26 parties across the country, BJP leader Sushil Modi had claimed that Kumar returned to Patna without attending the press meet as he was “upset” over not being made the convenor of the alliance. Kumar asked, “Who takes Sushil Modi seriously? Was he there at the meeting?”
The de facto leader of the JD(U) reiterated that he does not have any ambition for himself.
“We are working to unify all non-BJP parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Patna opposition meet was attended by 16 parties and there were 26 parties in Bengaluru. Our numbers are increasing and the unity of the opposition parties is getting strengthened,” he said. Kumar claimed that the number of alliance partners will increase further. He, however, did not close the parties which are likely to join INDIA.
Setting the tone for their 2024 Lok Sabha campaign, 26 non-BJP parties on Tuesday formed the coalition – Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) – to unitedly take on the ruling NDA.
“I am telling you that the outcome of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be in favour of the opposition alliance and the BJP will be finished,” said Kumar. He also denied the BJP’s claim that the Bihar chief minister was unhappy with the acronym of the coalition INDIA.
“The name of the alliance was given after a detailed deliberation in the meeting. The name was decided unanimously. It’s a good name… INDIA means Bharat. Don’t go by what the BJP leaders are saying,” Kumar said.
Reacting to the NDA meeting held in Delhi on Tuesday, Kumar claimed the BJP is scared of opposition unity.
“No meeting of the NDA partners took place after Atal Bihari Vajpayee Jee. NDA meetings used to take place during Ataljee’s tenure. After that, there was no NDA at all,” he said.
Claiming the NDA has a number of small parties that people don’t even know, the Bihar chief minister said, “There is no comparison between our opposition alliance and the NDA.” Without taking the name of Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM-Secular) party being an NDA partner, he said, “I made him (Manjhi) the CM in Bihar…now he has joined the NDA. He was working as the BJP’s spy.“
Earlier in the day, JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ described as “dushprachar” (canard) of the NDA reports of Kumar being unhappy with the acronym ‘INDIA’ and going into a sulk over not being made convener of the new coalition.
He also asserted that selecting the convenor was not on the agenda of Tuesday’s meeting. “It may be thought about when the next meeting takes place in Mumbai…. Nitish Kumar is the sutradhar (driving force) of opposition unity. And a sutradhar never gets angry,” Lalan said in Patna. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
