New Delhi: Despite their apparent bonhomie, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, with an eye on the 2019 general election, is trying hard to bring together all anti-Narendra Modi forces on a common platform. The Bihar Chief Minister, in a bid to project himself as the face of an anti-Modi platform, has decided to take the battle to Prime Minister Modi’s home turf Gujarat, tying up with Hardik Patel’s Patidar Navnirman Sena.
Mr Kumar is due to address at least three rallies in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat in the third week of March just after the results of the crucial five-state Assembly elections are out. The two leaders have decided to take forward their cooperation at the national level too. Akhilesh Katiyar, a close associate of the Patel leader, has joined as national general secretary of the JD(U), a senior party leader said.
Mr Katiyar, who was a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Patel Navnirman Sena (ABPNS), had organised Mr Nitish Kumar’s rally in Varanasi and adjoining areas in the past one year.
Mr Katiyar has also been appointed the JD(U) in-charge in BJP-ruled Gujarat and Rajasthan. He was earlier general secretary of NDA ally Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, but was sacked from the party after he organised a meeting of Hardik Patel in Delhi.
