Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday blamed the Congress party for the “slow progress” of the opposition bloc INDIA, which was formed to challenge the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Bihar CM said that the Congress was busy with the assembly elections in five states; therefore, the progress of the INDIA bloc has failed to gain momentum.
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram are set to go to the polls in November, and the results will be declared on December 3.
“There has not been progress in the alliance because the Congress seems to be more interested in the assembly elections in five states. In the alliance, we had agreed to assign Congress the leading role. But it seems that they will call the next meeting after the polls in five states are over”. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said this while addressing the “BJP Bhagao Desh Bachao” (remove the BJP and save the country) rally organised by the Communist Party of India in Patna.
CPI general secretary D Raja was also present on the dais along with other senior leaders. Nitish Kumar also charged the BJP with trying to alter the country’s history and hide the fact that it had no role in the freedom struggle for independence.
Speaking at the rally, Nitish Kumar recalled his old association with the CPI. He said, “I cannot forget how CPI helped me when I was contesting the assembly elections in 1987. My intention is to unite everyone. All left-wing parties should consider becoming a single entity”.
Nitish Kumar has been instrumental in uniting opposition parties and bringing them together on one platform to counter the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The opposition bloc was named the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) during its second meeting in Bengaluru. The first meeting of the united opposition was held in Patna on June 23. The INDIA Alliance is comprised of 28 political parties, which include the Congress, JD(U), RJD, TMC, DMK, AAP, NCP, and Shiv Sena (UTB), among many others.
Recently, there were speculations that the united opposition has taken a beating in the poll-bound state of Madhya Pradesh, where regional parties like JD(U), Samajwadi Party, and AAP declared their candidates against the Congress.
