Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to attend Karnataka CM, Deputy CM swearing-in ceremony

Darbhanga (Bihar) [India], May 19 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said that he has accepted the Congress' invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka's new Chief Minister and his cabinet on May 20.

He further said that efforts are underway to "unite" the Opposition as it would be in the "interest" of the whole nation.

"They (Congress) had a massive win (in Karnataka). I am in contact with the CM designate. He and Congress President also invited me to the swearing-in ceremony, so I told them that I will come...if Opposition parties come together, that will be in the interest of the nation, efforts are underway for that," Kumar said while talking to the media persons here.

Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar has been meeting Opposition leaders to strengthen the bloc against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Kumar had caught the national imagination with his pitch for a "united opposition" which, he believes, can take on and defeat the BJP in next year's Lok Sabha polls. The JD(U) supreme leader, who stunned the BJP last year when he snapped ties will visit Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar later in the day.

Several leaders including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot have reached Bengaluru to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Karnataka Cabinet.

The oath ceremony will take place on Saturday in Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru.

Congress on Thursday invited the leaders of like-minded parties to the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar scheduled on May 20.

As per the sources, the invitation has also been sent to like-minded opposition parties and their leaders including Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechuri, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.