Uniting Opposition for 2024 elections: Nitish Kumar to meet Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar today

In a bid to unite the Opposition for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar on Monday met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Janata Dal (Secular) chief H D Kumaraswamy on Monday in the national capital. 

On Tuesday, Kumar is expected to meet with a number of opposition leaders, including Sharad Pawar of the NCP, Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, and Om Prakash Chautala of the INLD. The meeting comes amid discussions in political circles that the leader of the JD(U) may serve as the opposition's candidate to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Nitish Kumar, who just left the BJP, is in Delhi to attempt to unite all of the opposition parties to challenge the powerful BJP in the next parliamentary elections. The Bihar chief minister is said to have discussed possible alliances between like-minded parties and the strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with Gandhi during their meeting.

Also Read | Nitish Kumar's Mission Delhi: Is he three years late?

In the midst of reports that Kumar is aiming to position himself as a prime ministerial contender in 2024, he denied the rumours, called for Opposition unity, and dispelled any notions of harbouring such ambitions.

Kumar's meetings with Opposition leaders comes days after Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao visited Bihar and held discussions on the political scenario in the country. When KCR was questioned during a press conference about whether the Opposition will nominate Nitish Kumar to run for prime minister in the 2024 local elections, Rao sidestepped the question by saying that the political parties would first meet to discuss the nominee.

Also Read | Uddhav Thackeray betrayed Hindutva, Amit Shah tells BJP MLAs in Mumbai

• 2024 Lok Sabha elections
• AAP
• Arvind Kejriwal
• JD(U)
• NCP
• Nitish Kumar
• Sharad Pawar
• HD Kumaraswamy