The opposition parties meeting, originally slated to be held in Patna, Bihar on June 12, was postponed on Sunday and rescheduled for June 23. The specific reason for the postponement of the meeting, which was set to be chaired by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was not disclosed.The Congress party had previously announced that party president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi would not be present at the meeting originally planned for June 12. Jairam Ramesh, the partys communications-in-charge, stated that although the two leaders couldnt attend, a representative from the party would be present. The Congress party had also made a request to reschedule the meeting to an earlier date. The announcement of the meetings postponement comes three days after Rameshs statement.The meeting was regarded as an effort by Nitish Kumar to bolster unity among opposition parties. In recent times, the Bihar Chief Minister has visited various states, including Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Karnataka, with the aim of fostering alliances among like-minded parties to counter the ruling BJP at the national level.image source: twitterAfter their initial meeting on April 12, Nitish Kumar had engaged with Congress leaders, leading to Rahul Gandhi referring to the encounter as a significant stride towards fostering unity among opposition parties.In his efforts to build alliances, Nitish Kumar met with various prominent leaders such as Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Naveen Patnaik, and others. In May, he also reached out to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, and Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.Nitishs engagement with Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik resulted in the allocation of 1.5 acres of land in Puri for Bihari pilgrims. However, Naveen Patnaik did not make any commitment regarding joining the non-BJP opposition front for the 2024 elections.The primary objective of the Opposition meeting is reported to be the selection of a consensus candidate to contest against the BJP in approximately 450 constituencies identified by Nitish as potential areas where the saffron party can be challenged in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
