Nitish will not be the leader of Oppn, says Upendra Kushwaha

PATNA: As the opposition parties meet in Bengaluru, Upendra Kushwaha, the president of Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD), said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not be the leader of the opposition parties in the Lok Sabha poll 2024.

"Nitish Kumar was thinking that Lalu Prasad Yadav would push him in the Patna meeting but he has declared Rahul Gandhi as the groom (Leader) for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll. Hence, there is nothing more left to say.

"Nitish Kumar has no scope to become the prime ministerial candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll. Earlier Samrat Chaudhary and Sushil Kumar Modi have also pointed out the same perspective and said that Nitish Kumar has nothing to gain from opposition unity.

"He was thinking of becoming prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha poll in 2024, but Lalu Prasad smartly brought the name of Rahul Gandhi."

Meanwhile, BJP is also countering the opposition unity meeting with a meeting of pro-NDA parties in New Delhi on July 18.

Sudhakar Singh, RJD MLA and former agriculture minister in Bihar government, while taking a dig at BJP said: "The lion of BJP is doing a meeting with its supportive parties. In the last 9 years, Narendra Modi has realized for the first time that the political ground is no more left underneath his feet. BJP is understanding now that its political ground is no longer intact. Hence, the small parties which have no utilities in Mahagathbandhan, were invited for the meeting of NDA. Hence, it is clear who is the lion and who is scared now."