Opposition leaders united on forming pre-poll alliance, talks on: Nitish Kumar

Asserting that leaders of most opposition parties are united on forging a pre-poll alliance against the BJP-led NDA before the 2024 general elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said "talks are on".

He told newspersons after arriving at Patna's Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport, that he had held talks with several opposition leaders on the issue during his recent Delhi visit.

“I met several opposition leaders during my stay in Delhi… Sab log ek paksh mein hin bol rahein hain (All are speaking in one voice), he said.

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"We are working to forge an alliance against the BJP-led NDA before the 2024 general elections. Talks are on with other non-BJP leaders…it will continue in future too,” Kumar elaborated.

He added that most leaders had conveyed to him that they were willing to join hands to fight BJP unitedly.

“This is not the first time I met non-BJP leaders in Delhi. Talks with other non-BJP leaders are on…They (leaders of opposition parties) have also expressed their willingness to fight unitedly against the BJP-led government”, Kumar said.

During his two days stay in Delhi, Kumar met and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Besides, he met several other opposition leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Kumar has already clarified that he has no prime ministerial ambitions. On several occasions in the past, Kumar said he was looking forward to play a “positive” role in forging opposition unity against the ruling NDA at the Centre.

When asked to comment on Bihar BJP Chief Samrat Choudhary's remark that all opposition leaders are symbols of corruption, Kumar refused to join issues and said, “I have nothing to say on this…these are senseless remarks. Let them (BJP) say whatever they are saying”.