BJP won’t cross 100 seats if Opposition unites, awaiting Congress signal: Nitish Kumar

The JD(U) supremo was sharing the dais with senior Congress leader Salman Khursheed, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav from the RJD, CPI(ML) Liberation’s secretary general Dipankar Bhattacharya and other leaders of the mahagathbandhan.

Nitish said his exit from the NDA last year had brought the curtains down on the BJP’s attempts to expand its footprints in the state, “but we need to achieve something similar on the national level”.

“I have just completed ‘Samadhan yatra’ that went very well. I am now ready (to move outside Bihar and work for Opposition unity). I have been getting calls from several Opposition parties. I am only waiting for a Congress signal,” said the Chief Minister.

Looking at Khursheed on the dais, Nitish said: “Hum to taiyaar hain hi. Jaan lijiye agar hum saath aa gaye, ye log (BJP) 100 cross nahi karenge. Faisla aapko lena hai (I am now ready to work towards national Opposition unity. Take it from me — if we are united, BJP will not be able to cross 100 seats in 2024 polls. Now, it is up to the Congress to take a call).”

Tejashwi followed up on Nitish’s remarks. “The Congress has to take a decision fast. We have to come together against the BJP.”

Responding to the message from the two allies, senior Congress leader Salman Khursheed said: “As far as I know and understand my party, I can say the Congress has been thinking on similar lines (on Opposition unity). I will convey the message to my party. Tejashwi ji would also understand that when one is in love, it is only a matter of who says ‘I love you’ first.”

Nitish’s address at the convention on Saturday could set the tone for the mahagathbandhan’s Purnea rally on February 25. The JD (U) chief has often said that an Opposition minus the Congress might not work well. He has been trying to get maximum parties in the Opposition camp, which he prefers to call the “main front”, rather than the third front.