Nitish Kumar rules out internal strife, likely to attend the next INDIA bloc meeting

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ruled out speculation about any internal strife within the INDIA bloc following the Congress' electoral debacle in the recent Assembly elections in three states.

Nitish Kumar also dismissed reports about his refusal to attend the INDIA bloc meeting, that was originally scheduled for December 6. Talking to reporters in Patna, Kumar termed such reports as “baseless” and said he would attend the next meeting.

“There have been reports that I won’t attend the meeting. This is not true, why would I refuse, everyone knows that I worked hard for the unity of Opposition parties. I was not well and even had a mild fever. Whenever there is a meeting I will attend it”. Kumar said.

In his statement to the media, Nitish Kumar dismissed reports about “personal ambition”, and emphasised the need for unity in the INDIA bloc in facing the BJP at the Centre.

“In the next meeting, I am going to ask political parties to finalise all important issues without further delay. The unity of Opposition parties is in the interest of the country”, Nitish Kumar said.

The Congress’ plan to organise a top leaders’ meeting on December 6 was postponed after a few top INDIA leaders, including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren declined to participate.

Former UP chief minister and Samajwadi boss Akhilesh Yadav had also decided to skip the meeting due to other engagements.

Sources said that the meeting scheduled for Wednesday was likely to be held in the third week of December. However, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav said that “the decision has been taken to call a meeting on December 17 as many political parties had other engagements on Wednesday”.

Earlier this week, after the results in three states — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan — several top political leaders in the state had alleged neglect of the INDIA bloc during the election campaign.

Nitish Kumar’s party, the JD(U), was among those which highlighted the Congress Party’s “indifferent” and “negative behaviour” exhibited throughout the Assembly election campaign in the Hindi heartland.