Nitish Kumar's JD(U) not to join ally Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'

Terming that the Congress Bharat Jodo Yatra is its internal matter Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said his JDU will not participate in the padayatraLalu Prasads RJD the largest constituent of the ruling Mahagathbandhan to which the Congress is an ally also said the party has not taken any decision on joining the foot marchKumars comment comes days after a section of JDU leaders in Uttar Pradesh announced that they would join the Congress Bharat Jodo Yatra in the stateBharat Jodo Yatra is its internal matter We will not join this yatra Let them Congress complete their programme then we will sit together and discuss about the opposition unity Kumar said while interacting with media persons in the Bihars capital PatnaRJD Spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari said the partys ideology is the same as that of the Congress and the grand old partys Bharat Jodo Yatra has drawn a huge crowd in states where the long march passed throughAsked whether the RJD will participate in the yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi he said No such decision has been taken It will be taken by Deputy CM Tejashwi YadavAlso read Bharat Jodo Yatra Rahul gets rousing welcome from supporters gathered at Loni borderNotably Samajwadi Party had on Monday stated that its chief Akhilesh Yadav would not participate in the yatra that entered neighbouring Uttar Pradesh on TuesdayBesides the main 3570km Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra a mass contact initiative of the party the Congress is organising several submarches in states from where the main yatra would not passCongress president Mallikarjun Kharge is scheduled to launch a padayatra to be organised by the partys Bihar unit on the lines of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on January 5 from Banka districtThe Bihar CM also said a united opposition can defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha electionsKumar had recently said he has no problems with the Congress his ally in the state pitching for Rahul Gandhi as the oppositions PM faceI have no problem was Kumars candid reply when journalists approached him with queries about former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Naths statement that Gandhi shall be the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha pollsKumar had also said I must make it clear I have said it again that I am myself not a claimant Of course I am of the firm belief that more and more parties opposed to the BJP should come together and the front thus formed will win a handsome majority and form a government sensitive to peoples needsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever