The much-awaited meeting of parties opposed to the BJP may be held in Patna on June 12, according to hints that emanated from a meeting of Bihar’s ruling JD(U) here on May 28.
While no significant office-bearer confirmed or denied the same, many present at the meeting said on condition of anonymity that the disclosure was made by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar himself.
Mr. Kumar, the JD(U)'s supreme leader, has been pitching for "Opposition unity" ever since he snapped ties with the BJP in August last year, following accusations that the ally was trying to create fissures in his party and diminish his standing.
Mr. Kumar, who is now heading an alliance government in Bihar that includes the RJD, Congress as well as the Left, has reached out to leaders like Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, all of whom are opposed to the BJP but not very comfortable with the grand old party either.
In fact, the idea of hosting a meeting of Opposition leaders in Patna was floated by Ms. Banerjee, who had invoked the memory of Jayaprakash Narayan, while meeting Mr. Kumar in Kolkata last month.
As part of the "Opposition unity" drive, Mr. Kumar has held parleys with not only Congress allies such as Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, but also its opponents like Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
A meeting with Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, ostensibly to seek land for a Bihar government guest house in that State, is being used by the BJP to mock Mr. Kumar, as the Biju Janata Dal supremo has virtually ruled out joining any broader formation.
