Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar’s visit on Wednesday to New Delhi, during which he went to the memorial of Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the former prime minister’s death anniversary, and also reached out to leaders of the Opposition alliance of which JD(U) is a part, appears to have not gone entirely to plan. Nitish has said the purpose of his Delhi visit was an “eye check-up”. However, a JD(U) source in Patna said the CM’s trip “was not planned properly”. “There had been attempts to seek last-minute appointments with some leaders, but they did not materialise. The trip was not timed well, as Congress’s Rahul Gandhi was also not available. One could easily speculate that the CM's Delhi trip held importance ahead of the Mumbai meet,” he said. A meeting of the Opposition parties’ Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is scheduled to be held between August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai. During the meeting, the alliance is likely to decide its office bearers, including the chairperson and national convenor, besides setting its political agenda for 2024 Lok Sabha elections. During his visit to Vajpayee’s memorial on Wednesday, Nitish said the former PM and BJP leader had special affection for him. “I was among the first to predict that Vajpayee would become PM, which he did. He had a special affection for me. It was during his time in 1999 that NDA was formed. I visited his memorial out of my utmost respect for the leader,” he said, adding that he had not scheduled any meetings with INDIA leaders in Delhi. A Congress leader in Bihar, however, said: “Nitish Kumar tried to exert pressure by visiting Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s memorial, but the Congress is not the RJD to fall for it. Nitish is part of INDIA, and he should keep his focus on it, rather than trying to give out confusing signals.” Another Congress leader said that Rahul Gandhi had been in New Delhi until Thursday morning, but had to then leave for Himachal Pradesh on short notice. According to JD(U) sources, INDIA’s Mumbai meeting will be key. “If Nitish Kumar is given a key role in INDIA, it can be a great way forward as he is the one who initiated Opposition unity,” a senior JD(U) leader said. Nitish has reiterated that his Delhi visit held no political significance. Criticising the NDA, he said the ruling alliance only started meeting again after the formation of the INDIA bloc. “Now that INDIA has taken shape following the Patna meeting, the NDA has renewed its meetings. Where was the NDA before?” he asked.
