Basking in Patna glow, Oppn camp braces for uphill ride as Nitish, Rahul take pole position

First, the Bihar CM, who played a leading role in organising the conclave, skilfully moderated the post-meet press conference. Although there are no signs yet whether the Opposition bloc will name its convener or coordinator, since it may trigger a row given the possibility of several claimants to the position, Nitish played this crucial role unofficially — and effectively — despite not having the nomenclature of a formal designation.

It was Nitish who succeeded in getting Congress leaders, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, on a platform with their rival in West Bengal — the CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee.

Despite the continuing standoff between the Congress leadership and Kejriwal on the ordinance issue, they were also brought together by Nitish to share a common Opposition space in Patna, which may continue in the Opposition parties’ next meeting to be held in Shimla in the Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh in the second week of July.

Second, the Patna conclave saw a thaw in the strained ties between Mamata and her Bengal opponents, Rahul and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri. Mamata kept highlighting her message that “We are united and we will fight unitedly”, underlining that the Opposition parties would fight the BJP “together, like a family, one-on-one”.  It is another matter that time alone would show whether they would be able to find a common ground in Bengal in their battle against the BJP in the 2024 polls.

Third, in the midst of a slew of prominent Opposition faces Rahul remained at its centerstage. He was  forthright in admitting that there could be “some differences” among the non-BJP parties coming together but said that they would be ready to “move along for the larger interest of the country”. While praising Nitish’s hospitality and appreciating the Bihari dishes in the menu, especially litti-chokha, he even dropped the hints that the Congress may not be averse to ceding ground to regional parties in their strongholds.

The meeting also saw RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s return to limelight and form amid his recuperation from prolonged illness and kidney transplant. Lalu has also been reeling from a series of convictions in fodder cases in recent years. Almost all the visiting leaders, including Mamata and Tamil Nadu CM and DMK supremo M K Stalin, called on him before the meeting. In a way, Lalu ensured that it was not entirely the Nitish show but was also an event hosted by the Mahagathbandhan — the grand alliance of the JD(U), RJD, Congress and three other parties — that rules Bihar.

During the press conference too, Lalu seemed to have found his usual wit and humour again, leaving the high-profile gathering in splits with his one-liners. He began by saying, “Ab hum fit hain aur ab BJP ko fit karenge (I am fit now and will sort out BJP now)”.  He advised Rahul to marry. “Time is still not lost for your marriage. Your mother (Sonia Gandhi ) says that you would not listen to her advice to get married. I advise you to get married…all of us will attend your marriage ceremony,” he said before Nitish announced the closure of the event.

The Opposition parties’ June 23 session did not discuss the nitty-gritty of sharing or adjustment of seats, leaving such tricky issues for their future meetings, which are set to pose formidable challenges to their unity project. They however set the ball rolling in Patna in their efforts to create a common anti-BJP front involving the Congress and several major regional players, which marked a key milestone on the road to 2024 battleground.