Nitish Kumar To Meet Mamata Banerjee In Kolkata Today To Shore Up Unity

Kolkata, West Bengal:

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has taken upon himself the task of uniting Opposition forces against the BJP-led government at the Centre, will call on his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Monday.

The meeting will come close on the heels of his visit to the national capital to meet Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and former MP Rahul Gandhi. The meeting was seen as the major step to laying the groundwork for a grand Opposition alliance ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said it was a “historic step” towards Opposition unity and for an “ideological fight”.

Rahul Gandhi, who posted a picture of himself with Mr Kharge and JDU and RJD leaders, said they are “standing together, will fight together for India”.

“In this battle of ideology, a historic step has been taken today towards Opposition unity. (We are) standing together, will fight together – for India!” Rahul Gandhi had said in a tweet after the meeting Nitish Kumar.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh was also present at the meeting held at Mr Kharge’s residence.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also leaving no stone unturned in closing in ranks with other parties ahead of the 2024 polls, as she met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at her residence in Kolkata last month.