‘No ego clash,’ says Mamata after meeting with Nitish, Tejashwi

“I have requested Nitish ji that just like during the JP movement (led by socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan), which began from Bihar in the 1970s, another meeting should take place in that state. A message should go out that the Opposition is together. After that, we can decide on the manifesto and other details… We are in touch with all other Opposition parties and there is no ego clash,” she said. She also praised the work done by Nitish and Tejashwi in Bihar, and said she had a “fruitful discussion on developmental and political matters” with them.

Calling it a “very positive discussion”, Nitish Kumar said, “We have held talks, especially about the coming together of all parties and making all preparations ahead of the upcoming Parliament elections.” (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Nitish too said they had a “fruitful discussion”, and praised Banerjee.

“I have had a long-standing relationship with Didi. Today, when I came here, I was amazed to see the progress that Kolkata has made. The kind of development that the state government has brought to Bengal is commendable. We held a political discussion with Didi, where we decided that all political parties should unite and fight against the BJP together. We will have more such discussions, and decide on the future course of action,” he said.

Targeting the BJP government at the Centre, he added, “Whatever we decide should be for the benefit of our nation. Currently, the party that is governing our country has no care about development. All they care about is politics and politics alone, while the country’s development has taken a back seat. You see the kind of development that Kolkata and Bengal has made? Has all this been done by Delhi? It is all the Bengal government’s handiwork. If you look at the history of our nation, those who didn’t take part in our freedom struggle are today hell-bent on changing its history.”

West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav at Nabanna. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Banerjee also took aim at the BJP, and reiterated that the party must be defeated.

She said, “I have always said that BJP should be brought down to zero. They have become huge heroes with the help of the media and the fake narratives that they push day-in, day-out. All they indulge in are jumlas (trickery) and goondaism. We are also talking to other Opposition parties across the country and there is no issue of any ego clash. We all want to work together collectively, and this is the message that we are sending out today.”

The BJP called the attempts at Opposition unity an “alliance of the corrupt”.

Bengal Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP said, “Corruption United Front has formed. Chairman Mamata Banerjee and convener Arvind Kejriwal. This alliance is a half-hearted alliance. It has no direction.”

BJP’s co-incharge for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, said, “It is ironic that Mamata Banerjee, who once called Nitish Kumar “gaddar (traitor)” in a rally in Patna for not backing her campaign against demonetisation, is today speaking about Opposition unity. It tells you a lot about both Mamata and Nitish’s politics of opportunism. She should worry about losing ground in Bengal. Last time the BJP won 18 Lok Sabha seats and that number this time will be 35. The less said about Nitish Kumar the better. With 40-odd MLAs, he managed to remain Bihar CM because the BJP chose to honour its commitment, only to be backstabbed later. People of Bihar and West Bengal will respond at the hustings.”

In Patna, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi dismissed the meeting as nothing more than a photo-op. “Nitish Kumar’s campaign to meet Opposition leaders is nothing more than a photo-op. NCP leader Sharad Pawar has already differed with the Congress on the Gautam Adani issue. In West Bengal, the BJP has won 18 MPs and 64 MLAs. Can the Congress, the TMC and the CPI (Marxist) come together in West Bengal? In UP, even if Mayawati, Akhilesh and the Congress come together, they will not be able to match the Narendra Modi-led BJP.”

However, JD(U) leader K C Tyagi expressed optimism about the prospect of Opposition unity.

He told The Indian Express, “Nitish Kumar has managed to break the ice between the Congress and Mamata Banerjee. Earlier, he had done so between the Congress and Arvind Kejriwal. Akhilesh Yadav is also warming up to the idea of broader Opposition unity. So far, things are moving fast and in the right direction. We could soon see Patna hosting a meeting of top Opposition parties. Mamata giving reference to the JP Movement from Bihar is very heartening.”

“We must bear in mind that Congress has no MP in 18 states. This is where regional parties become so important to make a bigger and broader national alliance with Congress at its fulcrum,” Tyagi said.

Banerjee had met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at her residence in Kolkata last month. At the time, both leaders had said that their parties would contest the 2024 general election on their own, and would not align with the Congress.

The West Bengal CM also had a meeting with her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik earlier this month.

Nitish has also been working towards Opposition unity against the BJP. Recently, he met with Congress’s top leadership, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi.

– With inputs from Santosh Singh in Patna