Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday became the latest Opposition leader from the INDIA bloc to express his annoyance with the Congress for not prioritising the coalition that was conceived and formed by Nitish himself in June this year, with the grand old party being its centrifugal force under his coordination.

The senior JD(U) leader claimed “nothing much” is happening in the alliance, a bloc of 28 parties formed to counter the BJP juggernaut in the 2024 general elections.

During the last one week, other key stakeholders, including Sharad Pawar, Sitaram Yechury, Akhilesh Yadav, and Omar Abdullah, too have voiced their concerns and expressed the need to expedite the formulation of INDIA if everyone is interested in dismantling Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Though Nitish’s statement provided the much-needed ammunition for the BJP to attack the alliance, and particularly the JD(U), which broke ranks with the BJP to join the RJD in leading the State, Bihar Congress chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh said the Bihar Chief Minister was correct in his assessment.

Addressing a hastily convened Press conference at the AICC headquarters in the national Capital, Singh said the Assembly elections are underway in five States.

“Nitish expressed his concern about expediting the development of the INDIA framework because, just like him, all Opposition parties are extremely anxious to dislodge the BJP-led Modi Government from the Center,” he said.

Nitish blamed the Congress’ preoccupation with Assembly polls in five States for the INDIA coalition’s inability to build on the momentum it had gained in recent months. Nitish had hosted the first meeting of Opposition leaders at Patna in June after talking to all leaders and meeting and visiting them personally in an effort for the formation of the new coalition.

“Nitish first convinced the Congress to take the lead role, and after receiving assurances of full support, he proceeded to gain the confidence of RJD’s Lalu Prasad.

“It was Lalu who was initially reluctant to include the Congress, considering their history of tantrums, but Nitish convinced him of the need to keep the national party as pivotal,” one RJD leader told The Pioneer.

“There has not been much progress on that front. The Congress party seems to be more interested in the five Assembly polls. In the INDIA coalition, all of us had agreed to assign the Congress the leading role.

“But it appears they will respond and call the next meeting only after they are through with the ongoing elections,” said Nitish at a rally in Patna called by the Left party CPI — Bhaajpa hataao Desh bachao (dislodge the BJP from power, save the country).

Speaking in the presence of senior leaders like CPI general secretary D Raja, the Bihar CM recalled that parties opposed to the current dispensation had come together to form the new coalition.  Turning towards Raja, the Bihar CM recalled his close association with the Left parties since the 1980s when CPI and CPI(M) had worked together to help him win his first election.

Responding to Nitish, the Congress asserted that the Opposition INDIA bloc had been formed for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections at the national level and was not State specific.

Singh said, “It was a CPI event. I have heard his speech. The intention of his remarks is that the Modi Government should be removed as soon as possible. But it will be removed only when the time comes and there are elections.”

Not being offensive like his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Ajay Rai who annoyed SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav over seat sharing in Madhya Pradesh elections, the Bihar Congress chief said the summary of the Bihar Chief Minister’s remarks was that the parties that have come together should be more pro-active and jointly dislodge the Modi government, so there is nothing wrong in what he stated. “I believe that States make up the country, so the five States are important as well,” Singh said.

“The summary of his remarks was that the Congress is busy in State elections and then the Congress will call a meeting. Before also, at Sadaqat Asharam (Congress office in Patna), Lalu Prasad had come and had said INDIA bloc’s first rally will be in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan,” Singh told the media.