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"Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are still together." Nitish Kumar said. Bihar Prime Minister Nitish Kumar's first round of talks with the two most vocal opposition leaders against Congress scored a perfect 10 today. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav agreed in principle on the need to stop the BJP and on the unity and cohesion needed to achieve it. With Ms. Banerjee, the leader known for her fiery temper, Mr. Kumar came to understand that "there is no ego conflict" and no problems "if the thought, vision and mission are clear." Together with Akhilesh Yadav, he invoked the "old school bond" of the JP movement.
At the opening of the press conference, Akhilesh Yadav was adamant. “I am with you in this effort to oust the BJP (from power) and save the nation,” said the former Uttar Pradesh prime minister, flanked by Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav.
"Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are always together... We are Samajwadis. We share a history," Kumar told the news conference, sitting next to Akhilesh Yadav. Mr. Yadav's late father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, got his start in politics in the Samajwadi movement with Mr. Kumar and his ally and patriarch Rashtriya Janata Dal Lalu Yadav.
"You have to understand that we are making an effort to change history... We have decided to gather as many parties as possible and work for the country," he added.
Lucknow was Kumar's second stop after Calcutta, where he had long talks with Mamata Banerjee this morning.
"We will move forward together. We don't have personal egos. We want to work together collectively," Ms. Banerjee said after the meeting.
His warning, however, was that the message of unity had to come from Bihar, where "the movement of Jayaprakash (Narayan) ji began."
"If we have a multi-party meeting in Bihar, we can decide where to go next. But above all, we have to let it be known that we are united," said Ms. Banerjee. The JP movement, which started as a protest against mismanagement in Bihar, later turned against the central Congress government headed by India Gandhi.
Mr. Kumar, who had sided with Congress at the state level not once, but twice, seemed pleased.
Bihar's chief minister took on the task of recruiting anti-Congress leaders after a meeting with Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi earlier this month.
After a lifetime of confrontation with Congress, the Janata Dal United leader has partnered with the party not once, but twice, at the state level. In recent years, he has been quick to admit that any opposition front without the Great Old Party cannot hope to drive the BJP from power.
He has already recruited Arvind Kejriwal, one of the most vocal critics of Congress. After their meeting on April 13, the Chief Minister of Delhi announced that he was "in full agreement" with Mr. Kumar and that it was "extremely necessary" for the opposition to "come together and change the government in the Center".
