Bihar: NCP chief Sharad Pawar arrives in Patna to attend Opposition leaders' meeting
Patna: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday arrived at Bihar's Patna to attend the Opposition leaders' meeting hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Before leaving for the Opposition meeting, the NCP leader said that the "Manipur issue will also be discussed" in the Opposition leader meeting. Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury also arrived in Patna to attend the meeting.
Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and KC Venugopal arrived in Patna.
Leaders of several opposition parties already had arrived in Patna on Thursday ahead of their crucial meeting which is aimed at forging unity for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls even as they face challenges in terms of turf wars in states.
As leaders of several opposition parties arrived in Patna on Thursday, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary decided to skip the conclave due to a "pre-decided family program". Chaudhary, however, hoped the meeting will be an "important milestone in the path of opposition unity".
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti were among the leaders who reached Patna ahead of the meeting.
On her arrival in Patna, Mamata Banerjee called on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch and former Bihar CM Lalu Yadav and his son and state Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav.
The Opposition picked Patna as a venue for its meeting as it represents the 1974 call of total revolution by Jayaprakash Narayan that toppled Indira Gandhi's majority government. (ANI)
