Nitish Kumar begins Delhi visit to meet Oppn leaders. Rahul Gandhi is first stop

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar met RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav in Patna before leaving for his three-day visit to Delhi

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday embarked on a three-day visit to national capital Delhi to meet prominent faces in the Opposition to start discussions on their plans for the 2024 elections, said a leader close to Kumar.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar started his three-day visit to Delhi on Monday, days after he told his party that it was possible defeat BJP if the opposition unites (Twitter/INCIndia)

Before leaving for Delhi, Nitish Kumar met Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav at 10 Circular Road, the official residence of former chief minister Rabri Devi. Deputy chief minister and the RJD founder’s younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav greeted Kumar at the residence.

Later, Tejashwi Yadav shared some photographs of Nitish Kumar with Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi and him on Twitter with a post: “Respected CM Nitish Kumar met RJD chief Lalu Prasad at his residence.” In one of the frames, the CM and his deputy were seen helping the ailing RJD chief take a few steps after the meeting.

Prasad, who is recuperating after his shoulder injury, is likely to go to Singapore for medical treatment.

Nitish Kumar’s Delhi visit is his first after he exited the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and aligned with the RJD and five other parties and days after he told his party, the Janata Dal (United) that opposition parties could restrict the BJP to 50 seats in the 2024 elections if they fight together. “I am devoting myself to that campaign”, Kumar told the JD(U) national executive in Patna on Saturday.

A leader who is accompanying Nitish Kumar on his Delhi trip said Kumar met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi soon after landing on Monday. “A meeting with Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejariwal is also on the agenda during his stay,” the leader said.

The Congress later tweeted a photograph of the two leaders.

The Bihar chief minister’s ambitious call to dislodge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power at the Centre was recently supported by Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who met him and the RJD cheif in Patna and gave a call for “BJP-Mukta Bharat” by forging an alliance of all opposition parties minus the Congress and the Left. However, Nitish Kumar did not appear to be convinced about the KCR’s idea and said that the plan to unseat the BJP might not yield results without the Congress and Left parties.

In Bihar, Kumar heads a seven-party coalition that includes the Congress and the Left. In his pro-Congress stance, Kumar is likely to receive ample support from Lalu Prasad Yadav who is known to share excellent personal equations with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

National JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh, water resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha and building construction department minister Ashok Choudhary are accompanying the chief minister during his Delhi visit.