Nitish Kumar to meet Kharge day after meeting Kejriwal

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is expected to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday as part of the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) leader’s attempts to bring together non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parties ahead of the 2024 national polls, people aware of the matter said.

This assumes significance against the backdrop of Kumar’s meeting with his Delhi counterpart, Arvind Kejriwal, on Sunday. Kejriwal sought unity among non-BJP parties to prevent parliamentary approval for the ordinance issued to restore to the Union government the power over “services” in Delhi.

The ordinance was issued a week after the Supreme Court ruled the Delhi government has control over bureaucrats assigned to departments under its purview. Ordinances can be issued on any subject that Parliament has the power to make laws. They are required to receive the approval within six weeks of the reassembly of Parliament.

A JD(U) leader said Congress’s support for Kejriwal will be vital for Kumar’s unity efforts. “Despite the turf war between the two [Congress and Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party], it is the larger issue that will bind them. The ordinance is something that no political party or elected government will approve of. It could be one of the rallying points. Many such points will come…Kejriwal will also have to move a step forward for others,” said the leader, who did not want to be named.

The leader added Kumar is trying to set the stage for a meeting of non-BJP parties in Bihar. “But before that, he wants to ensure that all come on board for a common cause. The fight will require all opposition parties to bury personal differences…meeting points will be crucial for stitching a larger alliance,” said the JD(U) leader.

He added Kumar will return to Patna on Tuesday and might have a few more meetings with other leaders before that.

Kumar on Sunday pledged support for Kejriwal and called for unity to prevent the BJP-led Union government from undermining democratic institutions and constitutional values.

He flew to New Delhi after attending the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress government in Karnataka on Saturday. Kejriwal was not invited to the ceremony.

Kumar in April met Kharge and Congress member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi. He held meetings this month with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. He earlier met leaders including Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.