Three days ahead of the Opposition meeting in Patna on Friday, June 23, to forge strong Opposition unity to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party in the next Lok Sabha election, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will travel to Chennai on Tuesday, June 20, to meet his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin.
Nitish will personally invite Stalin -- who also heads the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham -- for the Opposition rally, which will also mark the birth centenary of Stalin's father and the late DMK leader M Karunanidhi.
Nitish will return to Patna on June 21 and monitor preparations for the Opposition meeting, which will be held at his residence.
Nitish has been engaging with national and regional party leaders in recent months as part of his mission to strengthen 'Opposition unity'. He has repeatedly denied that he in contention for the prime minister's position.
According to JD-U leaders close to Nitish, after the Opposition meeting in Patna, the Janata Dal-United leader is likely to be appointed convenor of the united Opposition front for the Lok Sabha election.
BJP leaders in Bihar, sources say, have been asked by the party's central leadership to target Nitish constantly.
The BJP and the JD-U were in an alliance till August 9, 2022, when Nitish pulled out and formed a government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal's support.
After he dumped the BJP, forged a Mahagathbandhan with the RJD, Congress and other parties, Nitish has repeatedly urged all the Opposition parties to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha election together if they wanted to end the BJP's rule.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
