Nitish, Tejashwi meet leaders of Congress, AAP as part of opposition unity efforts for 2024 Lok Sabha battle; BJP hits back

New Delhi [India], April 13 : As part of efforts to "unite as many opposition parties as possible" to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav met Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi as also Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Sources said there will be a meeting of opposition parties by the end of April after consultations with them and Nitish Kumar and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will talk to the opposition parties.
After the meeting, Kharge talked of fighting the polls unitedly. Rahul Gandhi also talked of "standing together and fighting together". Kejriwal said it is essential for all opposition parties to unite and oust the BJP-led government in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The meetings are being seen as an attempt by Congress and other opposition parties to take forward their "unity" displayed during the budget session of Parliament session that concluded on April 6. The session saw continuous disruptions over the opposition's demand for a JPC probe into the Hindenburg-Adani row. The opposition parties also slammed the government over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha following his conviction by a Surat court in a criminal defamation case.
BJP leader and Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur took a swipe at the opposition parties over their efforts to forge unity to take on the BJP in the 2024 elections and said these parties were coming together for 'Maha thug Bandhan'.
Rahul Gandhi described the meeting with Janata Dal-United and RJD leaders as a "historic step" towards opposition unity and for an ideological fight.
Rahul Gandhi, who posted a picture of Kharge and him with JD-U and RJD leaders, said 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 said in a tweet.
Answering queries, Rahul Gandhi said that bringing together opposition parties is a process and the opposition parties will develop their vision for the country. "All the parties that come along, we will take them along in the ideological battle that is going on in the country. The attack that is happening on the institutions, we will fight it together. An important step has been taken," he said.
Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh was also present at the meeting held at Kharge's residence.
Nitish Kumar said they will try to unite as many parties as possible.
"We will try to unite as many political parties as we can and move forward together. We will sit and deliberate on the way forward. We have had discussions. Those who agree with us...we will then take decisions about the future. A lot of people will come together," he said.
Kharge had earlier this month telephoned Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in an effort to build on "unity" displayed during the budget session of Parliament.
Congress is a junior part of the ruling Mahagathbandhan in Bihar which also includes JD-U and Rashtriya Janata Dal. While Nitish Kumar leads the government, Tejashwi Yadav is the state Deputy Chief Minister.
Kejriwal said after his meeting with Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav that they discussed the present political situation of the country in detail.
"Got the opportunity to felicitate the Chief Minister of Bihar Shri @NitishKumar ji and Deputy Chief Minister Shri @yadavtejashwi ji at my residence today. The present political situation of the country was discussed in detail," Kejriwal said in a tweet.
Addressing the media, Kejriwal lashed out at the BJP government at the Centre and said that it is the "most corrupt" government after independence.
"This is the most corrupt government in the country after independence and it is essential for all opposition parties to unite and change the government in power," he said.
Kumar also talked of opposition unity.
"We will try to unite as many political parties as we can and move forward together," he said.
Anurag Thakur took a dig at the opposition parties including Congress, RJD and JD-U over their efforts to forge unity to take on the BJP in the 2024 elections and said these parties were coming together for 'Maha thug Bandhan'.
Thakur said opposition parties do not have leadership or policy and will not get the support of the people.
"When political parties that are indulging in corruption come together they form 'Maha Thug Bandhan'. Corruption cannot be hidden. People know that they have neither policies, nor leadership, or intention. People do not vote when there is a wrong intention. They don't have any policy, or leadership. People will not vote for them. During 2014, 2019 and UP polls also they formed this 'Maha Thug Bandhan' but nothing happened as people know about them," Thakur told ANI.
"The 22 years of politics of Narendra Modi from CM to PM have been honest and full of dedication. Where is the contest?" he asked.
He also took potshots at Congress over problems in its Rajasthan unit.
"Corruption is at a high level in Rajasthan. Crimes are increasing one after another, women feel unsafe in Rajasthan. But it does not have any impact on Ashok Gehlot. People have made up their mind in Rajasthan that people will vote out the corrupt government there," Thakur said.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday held a day-long fast calling for action by the incumbent Ashok Gehlot government against alleged corruption during the previous BJP rule under former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. Pilot's move came in spite of the warning that any such action would be termed as anti-party activity.
Opposition leaders have in the past made efforts to forge a broad unity to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. However, the task is not easy due to their competing political interests.
AAP and Congress are rivals in Delhi and Punjab. AAP is seen to have damaged the prospects of Congress in the Gujarat assembly polls held last year.
Similarly, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are unlikely to concede any space to Congress in Uttar Pradesh. Apart from BJP, Trinamool Congress also sees Congress and Left parties as rivals in West Bengal. Left parties and Congress are rivals in Kerala.