Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in Delhi today, leading to speculation of a major coming together of opposition parties to take on the BJP in the national election next year.
“Nitish ji has taken a good initiative of gathering all opposition parties under one roof. We are on board with this and like the way it is adding up,” Mr Kejriwal told reporters after meeting Mr Kumar.
“The country is going through a very difficult time. I have said it many times that probably the most corrupt government is in the country today since independence,” said Mr Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi has a bitter rivalry with the BJP, often accusing the centre of trying to derail Delhi’s progress via the Lieutenant Governor.
Mr Kejriwal’s meeting comes hours after Mr Kumar and Mr Yadav held talks with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi.
It was the first formal meeting of the top leaders of the Congress and the Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), with an eye on solidifying opposition unity for the 2024 election.
“We held a historic meeting here. A lot of issues were discussed and we decided that we will unite all parties and fight the upcoming polls in a united manner. We have made this decision and all of us will work for this,” Mr Gandhi told reporters, with the other leaders flanking him.
In agreement with Mr Gandhi, the Bihar Chief Minister said, “We will make all efforts to unite more and more parties in the country.”
The JD(U), Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress are in a coalition government in Bihar.
Mr Kumar is likely to meet more opposition leaders in Delhi. Mr Kharge has also spoken to others including DMK’s MK Stalin and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in an effort to unite “like-minded” parties against the BJP.