Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, will call on Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday.

The meeting assumes importance in the backdrop of discussions on Opposition unity. Both Nitish and the RJD are pushing for a pre-poll alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election rather than a loosely tied-together front.

The Bihar leaders will be in the national Capital to attend a rally to mark the birth anniversary of former deputy Prime Minister and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) founder Devi Lal in Fatehabad, Haryana, organised by INLD leader O.P. Chautala. A senior JDU leader said a formula is being worked upon similar to 2004 for a pre-poll alliance where alliances can be forged at the State level amongst parties comfortable in sharing space like the one that exists in Bihar.

Such an alliance can be explored in five major States — Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, which together send 222 members to the Lok Sabha.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury asserted that Opposition unity at the national level is a chimera that no one should chase. “I have said it repeatedly, that alliances have to be formed at the State level keeping in mind the unique political factors of each State,” he said.

In 2004 too informal alliances existed prior to the election among the several of the constituent parties of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at State level. The Congress for example was in alliance with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in Jharkhand, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu and the RJD and the LJP in Bihar. The rally organised by Chautala will be attended by several Opposition leaders including NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, DMK leader Kanimozhi and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.

Yechury too will be present at the rally. Chautala has also sent invitations to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and Telugu Desam Party chief (TDP) Chandrababu Naidu, for attending public meeting.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has also been invited.

While Banerjee will not be attending the rally, the party’s Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Sukendu Sekhar Ray will be representing the Trinamool Congress.