BJP clueless on how to counter oppn unity, says Tejashwi

PATNA: Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday claimed that BJP leaders were clueless on how to counter a strong opposition unity in the country.

Reacting to BJP claims that the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Odisha were not coming to Patha for the meeting of opposition parties on June 23, Tejashwi said: "They are making worthless statements. They are scared of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP recently lost Karnataka, before that Himachal Pradesh. They will be also defeated in the upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh. Don't worry about it.

"The opposition unity is strong and the leaders are coming for the meeting on June 23. There will be 15 political parties, including the Congress, in the opposition camp and their senior-most leaders are coming here for the meeting. They are not sending representatives."

On Wednesday, Tejashwi and JD(U) national president Lalan Singh had announced that the opposition meeting, that was earlier scheduled to be held on June 12 and then deferred, will now be held on June 23 at the Gyan Bhawan in Gandhi Maidan.

Top Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Left leaders D. Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and CPI-ML national secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya have already given their consensus for the meeting.