Crucial Nitish-Mamata meeting likely on April 25

Kolkata: Ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to meet her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar this week in the city.

It is learnt from party sources that the meeting in all probability is likely to take place at her Kalighat residence and will be a closed-door one. The meeting with Nitish Kumar is scheduled for April 25 when he is likely to arrive in Kolkata.

As learnt from sources, the interaction will focus on a united Opposition Front to oust the BJP from power in 2024. Most Opposition parties in India have by now expressed the willingness to put up a fierce contest against the saffron brigade in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

TMC has already announced that it is in talks with opposition parties of BJP-ruled states. However, instead of wanting a Congress-led alliance, the party had made it clear that it is willing to tie up with regional parties. A TMC leader said although the party at present has not taken any such “anti-Congress” stance, its top-rung leaders are of the opinion that Congress must first prove its worth, and can independently put up a fight in states where it has a good ground.

“Congress shouldn’t behave like a big brother in an Opposition alliance,” the leader said.

The intention of TMC to form a formidable Third Front sans Congress seems apparent from the present developments where Mamata has been meeting heavyweight Opposition leaders from BJP-ruled states. In March, Mamata met leader of Uttar Pradesh’s Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Singh Yadav. The bonhomie between Akhilesh and..Mamata became more apparent in the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections when the former lent his support to Mamata who in turn returned his favour by campaigning for Akhilesh in Uttar Pradesh before the Assembly elections there.

Mamata also met Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy during his recent visit to Kolkata. During her recent visit to Puri, Odisha, Mamata met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Recently, she also spoke to her Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin over the telephone.

Mamata has time and again pointed out that the only way to oust BJP from power is through solid Opposition unity.

She stressed the need to oust BJP in a bid to “save democracy”. As to whether she will become the choice for Prime Minister if such an Opposition front indeed comes into force is a matter that only time will tell, said a party insider.