Stalin to take part in opposition parties' meet on June 23

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday said that he will participate in the opposition parties' meeting, scheduled to be held on Friday, in Bihar's Patna. Stalin was speaking at the event, held to inaugurate initiatives in memory of late DMK president M Karunanidhi at Tiruvarur.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav was also present at the event. The opposition parties' meeting, which will be convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, to mobilise the opposition against the Centre ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, will be held on June 23. The meeting, which is aimed at laying the groundwork for the coming together of like-minded Opposition parties against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government at the Centre, was originally scheduled to be held on June 12.

Several prominent opposition leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee will attend the meeting. However, giving a blow to the grand alliance government in Bihar, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) President Santosh Suman on Monday said that their party will be submitting a letter of withdrawal of support to the Bihar government and to the state Governor.

Santosh Suman said that they have sought time from Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar today evening in this regard. While addressing the press conference, Santosh Suman said," We are in the midst of party expansion. We will go to Delhi. Our options are open. If NDA approaches us we will talk to them. We will also look for third-front possibilities. We will consult with various NGOs. After 3-4 days we will inform the people of our final decision. We will submit our letter of withdrawal of support to the Bihar government to the Governor. We have sought time from the Governor today evening." Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM has four MLAs in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly. JD(U) has 45 MLAs while the RJD has 79. The BJP has 77 legislators in the House. On Aug 9, 2022, Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) extended unconditional support to Nitish Kumar and the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan minutes after Nitish Kumar tendered his resignation as the state chief minister.