Putting the rumours about Nitish Kumar’s alleged aspirations to be the prime minister at rest, Janata Dal (United) chief Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh has said that the Bihar chief minister is “not” a contender for the top post. Lalan Singh also said Nitish Kumar has stepped up to build a Bharatiya Janata Party-free country.
“Nitish Kumar is not a contender for the post of the Prime Minister. He has stepped up to build a BJP-free country and is working to unite the Opposition…When the elections conclude and the country becomes BJP-free, all the parties will sit together and decide who will be the leader of the country,” JD(U) chief Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh said.
Lalan Singh’s statement comes a few days before several prominent Opposition leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee will attend an Opposition meeting, to be convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The Opposition meet, aimed at laying the groundwork for the coming together of like-minded Opposition parties against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government at the Centre, was earlier supposed to happen on June 12 but Janata Dal (United) National President Lalan Singh informed that it has now been postponed to June 23.
“The opposition meeting will be held on 23rd June, in Patna. All opposition parties have agreed to this… Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Uddhav Thackeray, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, CPI Gen Secy D Raja, Sitaram Yechury and Dipankar Bhattacharya will attend the meet,” Lalan Singh said while addressing a press conference.
Nitish Kumar has been rooting for Opposition unity since he left the National Democratic Alliance and joined the Grand Alliance to form a new government in August last year.
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Updated: 11 Jun 2023, 09:47 PM IST