Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav To Meet Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray Today

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav will meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray during their Mumbai visit on Thursday, a JD (U) MLC said.

The duo will visit Mr Thackeray’s residence and later meet Mr Pawar at his home.

Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar has been meeting Opposition leaders to strengthen the bloc against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

He met his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday in Bhubaneswar.

Mr Kumar and Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) leader Mr Yadav will have lunch at Matoshree, the private residence of Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra, said JD (U) MLC Kapil Patil.

They will meet Mr Pawar at his south Mumbai residence ‘Silver Oak’ in the evening, he added.

Mr Kumar had caught the national imagination with his pitch for a “united opposition” which, he believes, can take on and defeat the BJP in next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

The JD(U) supreme leader, who stunned the BJP last year when he snapped ties and stripped it of power, is coming to Mumbai at a time when the western state is witnessing political turbulence.

Mr Pawar on Monday said he and Mr Kumar will meet when the latter visits Mumbai on May 11.

“Our outlook is that an alternative (to the BJP government) is needed in the country. Those who wish to contribute to it, be it Nitish or Mamata (West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress leader), in my view we all need to work together for the same,” the NCP chief had said.