Nitish's Push For Opposition Unity Ahead Of LS Polls: After Rahul And Kharge, Bihar CM Set To Meet Mamata Banerjee Today

In a bid to bring the opposition together against the BJP led Central government, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will meet West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata today (24 April).

After meeting Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and former MP Rahul Gandhi in the national capital, Nitish's meeting with Mamata is being seen as a major step towards creating a grand opposition alliance in preparation for next year's Lok Sabha elections.

After meeting with Nitish Kumar earlier this month, Rahul Gandhi had told reporters that the meeting was a "historic step" towards uniting the Opposition and for an "ideological fight", reports NDTV.

Rahul Gandhi shared a photo of himself with JDU, RJD leaders, and Kharge, and said that they are "standing together, will fight together for India".

"In this battle of ideology, a historic step has been taken today towards Opposition unity. (We are) standing together, will fight together - for India!" Rahul Gandhi had said in a tweet after meeting with Nitish Kumar.

Bihar's Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and JDU president Rajiv Ranjan Singh also attended the meeting held at Kharge's residence.

In preparations for the 2024 parliamentary polls, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had earlier last month met with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at her Kolkata residence.