Anti-Modi opposition gathers under Nitish to celebrate

Host of chief ministers attending swearing ceremony in Patna

GN Bureau | November 20, 2015


#Anti Modi   #Nitish Kumar   #RJD   #Lalu Prasad   #JDU   #oath ceremony   #Patna   #Gandhi Maidan  

Janata Dal (united) veteran Nitish Kumar is all set to take oath as Bihar chief minister. He has become new rallying point for the anti-BJP group. But can Bihar be example for India? Can Nitish thrive under anti-Modi banner? The answer is no.

These elections in Bihar were won caste combination even though one can say that Nitish has been seeking vote for his development agenda. So a caste driven Bihar cannot never be a model for India. About Nitish becoming central figure of anti-Modi group is a trap for him. Nitish has won Bihar on the promise of consistency but inconsistency has been the hallmark of the anti-Modi faction.

The characters in the opposition have never had cordial relations due to power politics and vote bank factors. If he decides to join the forces then Nitish risks losing his state and his reputation.

For the record, Nitish will take oath along with a jumbo 28-man cabinet at 2 pm today, which is likely to include both sons of RJD chief Lalu Prasad's sons. Lalu's younger son Tejaswi is likely to be appointed as Nitish's deputy.

The oath-taking ceremony at Patna Gandhi Maidan will also see scores of leaders from the anti-BJP force.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda are likely to attend the function. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling have been invited along with chief ministers of Congress-ruled states. They are Virbhadra Singh (Himachal Pradesh), Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Tarun Gogoi (Assam), Ibobi Singh (Manipur) and Nabam Tuki (Arunachal Pradesh). Interestingly, giving Kejriwal the company will be his predecessor in Delhi and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, D Raja of CPI, whose parties contested against the JD(U) led combine and but are anti-BJP in nature, and MK Stalin of the DMK have also confirmed their participation.

The event would also be graced by Jammu and Kashmir’s former chief minister Omar Abdullah besides Sheila Dikshit, Bhupendra Singh Hooda, Ajit Jogi, Babu Lal Marandi, Hemant Soren of the JMM and Shankar Singh Vaghela.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has also received the invitation from Nitish, will not attend the oath-taking ceremony but he will be represented by Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

The immediate fallout of today's gathering of parties opposed to the BJP is that they are likely to agree to work together in parliament and evolve a common strategy. After the swearing-in ceremony all the leaders will meet at the high tea being hosted by Nitish Kumar at the official residence of the CM at 1 Anne Marg.

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