<p>‘<em>Bihar mein dikha. Ab desh mein dikhega</em>’ (Bihar has seen. Now the country will see). Hoardings with such one-liner and a life-size poster of Nitish Kumar have been splashed all over the state capital, thereby giving a clear indication of an imminent national role the Bihar Chief Minister is likely to play for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.</p>.<p>Call it a coincidence that the two-day state executive and the national executive meeting of the Janata Dal (United), which concluded here on Sunday, too, witnessed chanting of slogans like ‘Desh ka PM kaisa ho, Nitish Kumar jaisa ho’, although Nitish was quick to rebut it.</p>.<p>“My sole aim is to unite the entire Opposition leaders who are inimical to the BJP. If they unite, the BJP could be easily sent packing,” averred Nitish here on Sunday. Today he was treading cautiously without going into the number of seats the BJP may win during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/bjp-can-be-bundled-out-for-50-seats-in-2024-lok-sabha-poll-nitish-kumar-1141902.html">BJP can be bundled out for 50 seats in 2024 Lok Sabha poll: Nitish Kumar</a></strong></p>.<p>Nitish, who measures his words very carefully before making any comment, had on Saturday said that the BJP could be reduced to 50 seats during 2024 parliamentary polls if all the Opposition parties forge unity and give a direct fight. On Sunday, he took a course correction. “I won’t go into the numbers (of seats). But I will definitely make an all-out effort to unite the Opposition parties in the different States. This is the need of the hour and I have been requested to do so by many Opposition stalwarts,” said Nitish who is flying off to New Delhi on September 5 on a three-day visit to the national capital where he will hold parleys with top Opposition leaders.</p>.<p>“I may not be able to meet Sonia Ji as she is out of India,” said Nitish but dropped ample hint that in the present era of “Undeclared emergency”, one has to shed differences and forge unity among the Opposition if the indomitable BJP has to be taken head-on.</p>.<p>The BJP has mocked Nitish saying that the leader whose party has less than 50 MLAs in Bihar wants to bundle out the saffron party with 50 Lok Sabha seats in the country. “No one can stop him from day-dreaming. But one thing is certain. This is his last term as the Bihar Chief Minister,” quipped senior Rajya Sabha MP and Nitish’s former deputy Sushil Kumar Modi.</p>.<p><strong>Get your maths right</strong></p>.<p>Taking umbrage over such unsavoury remarks, the JD (U) has hit back at the BJP and reminded the saffron camp to re-do its Maths. “When we were with the BJP (during 2019 LS Polls), the NDA won 39 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. Now that we have joined hands with the Mahagatbandhan and enjoy the support of seven political parties, nearly 70 per cent of the votes are with us. This large percentage of votes will eventually translate in Mahagatbandhan winning all the 40 seats,” said the JD (U) national president Lallan Singh, adding “the BJP should worry that it is not relegated to the 1980s situation where it had only two MPs in the Lok Sabha.”</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/jdu-alleges-undeclared-emergency-in-country-nitish-calls-for-oppn-unity-1141897.html" target="_blank">JD(U) alleges 'undeclared emergency' in country, Nitish calls for Oppn unity</a></strong></p>.<p>However, political experts feel Nitish has an arduous task in bringing all those inimical to the BJP under one umbrella. “Bihar is once again ready to show the path just like it happened in the 70s when the veteran Socialist Jaya Prakash Narayan, fondly know as JP, united all the warring Opposition under a loose conglomeration called Janata Party while taking a mighty Indira Gandhi head-on. Nitish, like his mentor JP, would like to play a similar and decisive role. But it is equally true that much water has flown down the Ganga in the last five decades. Nitish has to tread very cautiously because unlike his mentor JP, who never nursed Prime Ministerial ambition, Nitish’s unfulfilled dream and desire is known to all. And that could be his nemesis,” opined noted social scientist Ajay Kumar. </p>
<p>‘<em>Bihar mein dikha. Ab desh mein dikhega</em>’ (Bihar has seen. Now the country will see). Hoardings with such one-liner and a life-size poster of Nitish Kumar have been splashed all over the state capital, thereby giving a clear indication of an imminent national role the Bihar Chief Minister is likely to play for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.</p>.<p>Call it a coincidence that the two-day state executive and the national executive meeting of the Janata Dal (United), which concluded here on Sunday, too, witnessed chanting of slogans like ‘Desh ka PM kaisa ho, Nitish Kumar jaisa ho’, although Nitish was quick to rebut it.</p>.<p>“My sole aim is to unite the entire Opposition leaders who are inimical to the BJP. If they unite, the BJP could be easily sent packing,” averred Nitish here on Sunday. Today he was treading cautiously without going into the number of seats the BJP may win during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/bjp-can-be-bundled-out-for-50-seats-in-2024-lok-sabha-poll-nitish-kumar-1141902.html">BJP can be bundled out for 50 seats in 2024 Lok Sabha poll: Nitish Kumar</a></strong></p>.<p>Nitish, who measures his words very carefully before making any comment, had on Saturday said that the BJP could be reduced to 50 seats during 2024 parliamentary polls if all the Opposition parties forge unity and give a direct fight. On Sunday, he took a course correction. “I won’t go into the numbers (of seats). But I will definitely make an all-out effort to unite the Opposition parties in the different States. This is the need of the hour and I have been requested to do so by many Opposition stalwarts,” said Nitish who is flying off to New Delhi on September 5 on a three-day visit to the national capital where he will hold parleys with top Opposition leaders.</p>.<p>“I may not be able to meet Sonia Ji as she is out of India,” said Nitish but dropped ample hint that in the present era of “Undeclared emergency”, one has to shed differences and forge unity among the Opposition if the indomitable BJP has to be taken head-on.</p>.<p>The BJP has mocked Nitish saying that the leader whose party has less than 50 MLAs in Bihar wants to bundle out the saffron party with 50 Lok Sabha seats in the country. “No one can stop him from day-dreaming. But one thing is certain. This is his last term as the Bihar Chief Minister,” quipped senior Rajya Sabha MP and Nitish’s former deputy Sushil Kumar Modi.</p>.<p><strong>Get your maths right</strong></p>.<p>Taking umbrage over such unsavoury remarks, the JD (U) has hit back at the BJP and reminded the saffron camp to re-do its Maths. “When we were with the BJP (during 2019 LS Polls), the NDA won 39 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. Now that we have joined hands with the Mahagatbandhan and enjoy the support of seven political parties, nearly 70 per cent of the votes are with us. This large percentage of votes will eventually translate in Mahagatbandhan winning all the 40 seats,” said the JD (U) national president Lallan Singh, adding “the BJP should worry that it is not relegated to the 1980s situation where it had only two MPs in the Lok Sabha.”</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/jdu-alleges-undeclared-emergency-in-country-nitish-calls-for-oppn-unity-1141897.html" target="_blank">JD(U) alleges 'undeclared emergency' in country, Nitish calls for Oppn unity</a></strong></p>.<p>However, political experts feel Nitish has an arduous task in bringing all those inimical to the BJP under one umbrella. “Bihar is once again ready to show the path just like it happened in the 70s when the veteran Socialist Jaya Prakash Narayan, fondly know as JP, united all the warring Opposition under a loose conglomeration called Janata Party while taking a mighty Indira Gandhi head-on. Nitish, like his mentor JP, would like to play a similar and decisive role. But it is equally true that much water has flown down the Ganga in the last five decades. Nitish has to tread very cautiously because unlike his mentor JP, who never nursed Prime Ministerial ambition, Nitish’s unfulfilled dream and desire is known to all. And that could be his nemesis,” opined noted social scientist Ajay Kumar. </p>