Bengaluru Oppn meet will seal the deal: Lalu

The Bangalore meeting is a follow-up of the Opposition unity meeting in Patna held on June 23, which was attended by top leaders of 15 parties, including the Congress

Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad on Thursday said the second Opposition unity meeting in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18 would be conclusive as a final shape will be given to the proposed front to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the parliamentary polls in 2024.

Lalu Prasad (HT FILE)

“We will conclude (our discussions) in the meeting. The front would be getting a shape. We will oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power,” Prasad told reporters in New Delhi after reaching the national capital from Patna in the evening.

The Bengaluru meeting is a follow-up of the Opposition unity meeting in Patna held on June 23, which was attended by top leaders of 15 parties, including the Congress.

Asked about speculations that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar could once again align with the BJP after snapping ties with the Mahagatbandhan (grand alliance) of six parties, including RJD and Congress, Prasad said the JD(U) strongman was not going anywhere. “Nitish ji is not going anywhere,” he said.

On the split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Prasad said the party patriarch Sharad Pawar had emerged stronger.

According to news agency ANI, when asked about the PM face from Opposition and his earlier advice to Rahul Gandhi to get married, the RJD chief said, “Staying at PM’s residence without a wife is wrong. This should be done away with.”

Meanwhile, talking to reporters in Patna before leaving for New Delhi in the afternoon, the RJD chief downplayed the charge sheet filed against his son and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in the land for jobs case. “A lot many charge sheets have come and gone,” Prasad said.

The ailing RJD chief reiterated he would be visiting Bengaluru to attend the opposition meeting . “I will return to Patna and then go to Bangalore,” he said.

Prasad, 75, said he was going to New Delhi to undergo some medical tests available there. He had undergone a kidney transplant in Singapore last year.