JOIN USMore than delighted if Sharad Pawar leads Oppn front: Nitish Kumar
On a pan-India mission to forge Opposition unity and bring them under one platform in the run up to the 2024 general elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai amid major political developments in Maharashtra.
Nitish Babu, as he is popularly known, said he would be more than delighted if Pawar could take the leadership of the Opposition alliance.
“I am here as a bridge…we must be together ahead of the elections next year,” said Nitish, the Janata Dal (United) supreme leader, who is a veteran in coalition politics.
During the meetings at Pawar’s residence Silver Oak and Thackeray’s home Matoshree, Nitish was accompanied by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, the son of Rashtriya Janata Dal founder Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Nitish had once been part of the BJP-led NDA and also the Railway Minister.
Asked if Pawar will be the main face of the opposition alliance, Nitish said: “There will be nothing more delightful than that. I have told him that he has to work with more vigour, not only for his party but for the entire country."
However, Pawar said: “We have to work together.... face will be decided later."
“To save democracy, it is important to work together. After looking at the condition of the country, it seems that if we work together, there will be support for the alternative,” said Pawar, who was part of the erstwhile Congress-led UPA alliance government.
Earlier, after meeting Thackeray, Nitish said: “Our purpose is to ensure that more and more parties come together (against the BJP) in the interest of the country."
“Democracy is being murdered…we should not allow it to happen,” Thackeray said.
Thackeray and his son Aaditya and Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut had welcomed Nitish in Matoshree.
Nitish was accompanied by JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Bihar Legislative Council chairperson Deveshchandra Thakur and Bihar minister Sanjay Kumar Jha and Maharashtra MLC Kapil Patil.
Nitish has taken up the initiative to forge Opposition alliance in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and over the past fortnight met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, besides Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Left party leaders - CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja.
Nitish also met West Bengal chief minister and AITMC supremo Mamta Banerjee, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav as a part of similar efforts.