Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav meet Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav as opposition unity efforts gather momentum

NEW DELHI: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav held separate meetings with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday amid ongoing efforts to unite the opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier in the day, Nitish, Tejashwi and Mamata held a closed-door meeting to strategise on fighting the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
After his meeting with the TMC supremo, Nitish said that the opposition parties need to sit together and work out a plan for next year's polls.
The Bihar CM said that discussions were held on uniting all political forces for the elections.
"We will work together for the benefit of the nation. Those who are ruling the country are only interested in publicity. They are changing the history of the country," the JD(U) chief said.
Meanwhile, Mamata said that there is no personal ego among the opposition parties and they want to work together collectively.
She added that the opposition parties have to send out a message that they are all together.
"I have made just one request to Nitish Kumar. Jayaprakash ji's movement started from Bihar. If we have an all-party meeting in Bihar, we can then decide where we have to go next. But first of all, we have to give a message that we are united. I have said earlier too that I have no objections. I want BJP to become zero. They have become a big hero with media's support and lies," she told reporters.
Later, both Nitish and Tejashwi Yadav visited Lucknow to meet Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Akhilesh said that BJP is continuously trying to finish democratic values of the country.
"We all are here with people of India to save country from unemployment, inflation & poverty. We want BJP govt to exit so that country can be saved," the former UP chief minister said.
Targeting BJP again, the Bihar CM said that the party wants to change the history of India. "They must know the history. They are not doing any work but just publicising. We are going to mobilise most of the opposition parties in coalition and fight the upcoming elections," he said.
Banerjee has already held similar meetings with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy last month.
In a bid to unite the opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Kumar met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and its president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi earlier this month.
(With inputs from PTI)
Watch ‘No objection in grand alliance’: Mamata Banerjee asks Nitish Kumar for Opposition meet in Bihar