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In an interview, Jha, known as close confidant of Nitish Kumar, claimed that a broad agreement had been reached within the Opposition alliance on elevating Kumar to the post, but the move was thwarted during a key meeting held in Patna in June 2023.
Patna, Bihar, India -May.31, 2026: Former Bihar Chief Minister and JDU national president Nitish Kumar meeting with party national working president Sanjay Jha-MP at Patna, Bihar, India, Sunday,May,31, 2026.(Photo by Santosh Kumar/ Hindustan Times) Senior Janata Dal (United) leader, Sanjay Jha has blamed TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal for the collapse of cohesion within the Opposition's INDIA bloc.
Jha, JD(U) working president, alleged that the two leaders derailed a consensus plan to appoint former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the alliance's convener in 2023. Nitish Kumar was part of INDIA bloc till he switched to the BJP in January 2024.
In an interview, Jha, known as close confidant of Nitish Kumar, claimed that a broad agreement had been reached within the Opposition alliance on elevating Kumar to the post, but the move was thwarted during a key meeting held in Patna in June 2023.
“Two people destroyed the India Bloc alliance — I am on record: their names are Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal,” Jha said when asked to respond to what happened in INDIA bloc's first meeting in Patna hosted in 2023 by the then Bihar CM and JD (U) President Nitish Kumar.
Formed ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the INDIA bloc held a its first meeting in Patna in June 2023. The meeting hosted by Nitish Kumar, then Bihar CM and part of Opposition alliance, was held to work together to challenge the ruling BJP at the Centre in next year’s elections.
A consensus had been reached that Nitish Kumar would be the convener, Jha said. “But in the meeting, these two came in — probably as a planned move — and said there should be a Dalit Convener, proposing (Mallikarjun) Kharge sahab. This put the Congress on the backfoot. Nitish ji was never desperate to be the Convener. He was bringing everyone onto one platform. But the move was sabotaged,” Jha told Indian Express during Idea Exchange.
However, Nitish Kumar subsequently walked out of the coalition and returned to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in January 2024. Nitish recently resigned as Bihar CM and is now a Rajya Sabha MP.
Jha's remarks come a day before at least 23 political parties of the opposition INDIA bloc are schedulded to meet today to redraw their strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The meeting scheduled at 12 noon in the national capital is also expected to iron out differences amid changed power dynamics after the defeat of regional anchors TMC and DMK in the recent assembly polls.
“There was no plan, vision or cohesiveness in the bloc. Regional parties felt that Congress only does politics in a few states and it doesn’t affect them much. Personally, these two people sabotaged the alliance,” Jha told Indian Express.
Key agenda of INDIA bloc meeting today
Two people destroyed the India Bloc alliance — I am on record: their names are Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal.
The INDIA bloc meeting at Constitution Club in the national capital today comes close on the heels of electoral setbacks for two key regional players—the DMK and the TMC—amid reports of growing differences within the Opposition alliance over a range of issues.
Top leaders of opposition parties including Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC's Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav of RJD and Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT), besides Left leaders and those from smaller parties, are likely to attend the meeting at the Constitution Club in the national capital.
About the Author
Gulam Jeelani
Gulam Jeelani is Political Desk Editor at LiveMint with over 16 years of experience covering national and international politics. Based in New Delhi, Jeelani delivers impactful political narratives through breaking stories, in-depth interviews, and analytical pieces at LiveMint since February 2024. The expertise in video production fuels his current responsibilities, which include curating content and conducting video interviews for an expanding digital audience.<br><br> Jeelani also travels during elections and key political events and has covered assembly elections in key states apart from national elections. He has previously worked with The Pioneer, Network18, India Today, News9Plus and Hindustan Times.<br><br> Jeelani’s tenure at LiveMint and previous experience at print and digital newsrooms have honed his skills in creating compelling text and video stories, explainers, and analysis that resonate with a diverse viewership.<br><br> Before moving to New Delhi in 2015, Jeelani was based in Uttar Pradesh, where he worked for five years as a reporter. In 2018, Jeelani was one of the two Indian journalists selected for the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in the US. There, he attended training workshops on reporting and data journalism, and he was attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Minnesota, where he worked as a reporter.<br><br> Jeelani is a Bachelor's in Chemistry and holds a Masters Degree in journalism and mass communication from Aligarh Muslim University. Outside work, he enjoys poetry, cricket and movies.
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