Nitish to be in Delhi on Sep 5-7 for opposition unity

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will leave for Delhi on September 5 to meet political leaders from various affiliations in a bid to forge opposition unity, senior leaders of his JD(U) said here on Saturday.

They said Kumar will return two days later and is expected to meet senior leaders of the Congress, which is now his ally in the state. Notably, Kumar had been in touch with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi when he dumped the BJP last month. The JD(U) leader, whose party wants him to play a "national role" after having been the longest serving chief minister of Bihar, is also likely to interact with his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal who heads the Aam Aadmi Party.

 Another prominent leader whom Kumar is likely to meet is former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, whom he has known since they were both in Lok Dal. Chautala is seeking to revive his Indian National Lok Dal by challenging the BJP which is ruling the northern state for the second consecutive term.