BRS to skip opposition parties’ meet in Patna, 16 parties confirm attendance

On June 23, 2023, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] chief Nitish Kumar will play host to 16 opposition parties in Patna. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the meeting is being held to attempt an anti-BJP alliance to take on the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). But among the significant absentees will be Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

While BRS chief and Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has maintained a good working relationship with Nitish Kumar, the presence of the Congress at the event is a hindrance. His party is expanding its presence across the country, attempting to be a national party and has been seriously working on spreading its footprints in Maharashtra and Haryana. KCR has maintained that he will be equidistant from both the BJP and Congress and has declined to attend the meeting in Patna. 

In addition, Telangana Assembly elections are likely to be held in December this year, and the main opposition party for BRS is the Congress. For BRS, being on the same platform at this stage will not be politically prudent. BRS working president KT Rama Rao had told reporters that the party does not believe in forming a coalition against one man (Modi) and that they believe that third or fourth fronts do not work because each state has a different political situation. 

Apart from BRS, other significant parties which will skip the meet include Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)]. 

Meanwhile, 16 other parties, both regional and national, have confirmed their presence. In addition to the Congress, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Mamta Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Farooq Abdullah’s Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) and Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) will present. Congress allies, including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena will be present as well. 

Watch: Opposition parties forming an anti-BJP front. Can they stay united?