Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday visited the West Bengal state secretariat in Kolkata to meet with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as part of his efforts to build a strong coalition against the BJP. Accompanying him on the visit was his deputy, Tejashwi Yadav from the RJD.
Following the meeting, the two leaders plan to travel to Lucknow to meet with the Samajwadi Party chief, Akhilesh Yadav.
“We will go ahead together. We have no personal ego, we want to work together collectively,” Mamata Banerjee told reporters at a joint press conference.
“I have made just one request to Nitish Kumar. Jayaprakash ji’s movement started from Bihar. If we have an all-party meeting in Bihar, we can then decide where we have to go next. But first of all, we have to give a message that we are united. I have said earlier too that I have no objections. I want BJP to become zero. They have become a big hero with media’s support and lies,” she said.
“We have held talks, especially about the coming together of all parties and making all preparations ahead of the upcoming Parliament elections,” Nitish Kumar said.
Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JDU) has proposed what they call the “Nitish formula” of opposition unity, NDTV reported.
“The only way to win against Narendra Modi is to follow a one-against-one policy in 2024, which means one seat, one candidate from the opposition against the BJP candidate,” said senior Janata Dal-United leader KC Tyagi.
